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Smartwatch AFib Alert Saves Dad From Heart Surgery Delay
Confirmed
In Short: Joseph now views his smartwatch differently, recognizing its potential to provide critical health information.
Joseph Holycross and his wife, Jamie, credit a Galaxy Watch ECG reading for convincing him to seek emergency care after she noticed he was short of breath.
Joseph had been experiencing an elevated heart rate for about a year and a half to two years, often attributing it to caffeine or exhaustion.
Joseph says the watch's ECG reading made his symptoms harder to dismiss, leading him to bring the recording to the hospital.
An ER doctor confirmed the watch's diagnosis, and Joseph spent about a week in the hospital while doctors assessed his heart issues.
About 10 days later, Joseph underwent open-heart surgery.
For Jamie, this experience underscores the importance of taking wearable health data seriously and seeking professional medical care.
Kurt 'CyberGuy' Knutsson, in a Fox News segment, discussed how AI can help manage health appointments and understand medical information.
Apple's latest smartwatch models, the Series 12 and Ultra 4, feature a new 'Health Sensing System' and S11 chip, improving heart rate and recovery tracking.
These upgrades allow for more accurate heart rate sensing and increased heart rate variability scans, enhancing continuous tracking and data collection.
What's confirmed
- Joseph Holycross and his wife, Jamie, credit a Galaxy Watch ECG reading for convincing him to seek emergency care after she noticed he was short of breath.
- Joseph had been experiencing an elevated heart rate for about a year and a half to two years, often attributing it to caffeine or exhaustion.
- Joseph says the watch's ECG reading made his symptoms harder to dismiss, leading him to bring the recording to the hospital.
- An ER doctor confirmed the watch's diagnosis, and Joseph spent about a week in the hospital while doctors assessed his heart issues.
- About 10 days later, Joseph underwent open-heart surgery.
- For Jamie, this experience underscores the importance of taking wearable health data seriously and seeking professional medical care.
- Kurt 'CyberGuy' Knutsson, in a Fox News segment, discussed how AI can help manage health appointments and understand medical information.
- Apple's latest smartwatch models, the Series 12 and Ultra 4, feature a new 'Health Sensing System' and S11 chip, improving heart rate and recovery tracking.
- These upgrades allow for more accurate heart rate sensing and increased heart rate variability scans, enhancing continuous tracking and data collection.
What's still developing
- "I tend to fuel with caffeine. I'm a father of four, so, you know, we tend to drink coffee and things like that when we're tired to kind of push through the day," Joseph told CyberGuy.
- If his heart was racing, Joseph could point to coffee, exercise or a long day and keep going.
- "She had made the comment that I looked like I was short of breath, like I was breathing strangely," Joseph recalled.
- "It came up and told me immediately at the top in bold letters, atrial fibrillation," Joseph said.
- He was a busy father of four, worked long hours and had grown accustomed to blaming a racing heart on caffeine and exhaustion.
- It also completely changed the way he looks at the smartwatch on his wrist.
- Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson walks you through five practical ways AI can help you prepare for appointments, remember important details, understand complicated medical information, research prescription questions and organize your next steps.
- Series 12 remains Apple’s mainstream premium smartwatch, while Ultra 4 continues as the larger, tougher model aimed at endurance sports, outdoor activities and diving.
- A smart cat tracker is like a wearable health-monitoring device, such as a smart ring, smartwatch, or fitness tracker, that helps people stay on top of key wellness markers—but for a cat.
- A report from Bloomberg now provides some new details on the upgrades expected for the two smartwatches.
- Alongside the iPhone 18 Pros and foldable Duo, the company announced the Apple Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4, which feature a new “Health Sensing System” and S11 chip.
- The scans of heart rate variability, or HRV, another indicator of cardiac health, are also increasing by about 24 times. (Credit: Apple) “Recovery HRV is best for identifying daily signals of stress and recovery, while overall HRV is best for insights into a user’s broader health, including cardiovascular health,” the company noted.