Apple Watch Series 4's ECG feature helps doctor save a life in a restaurant

The Apple Watch comes with a number of health and fitness monitoring features like a heart-rate sensor, activity tracker, etc. One of the newly introduced features launched in Apple Watch Series 4 includes the ElectroCardioGram (ECG) that detects any irregularities in the heart rhythm. This feature came in useful for a man who was suffering from atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation or A-fib is a condition wherein the heart beats rapidly at an irregular rate. This condition is hard to detect as people do not experience any symptoms. A-fib, if not diagnosed, can develop clots, eventually leading to a stroke or even heart failures. Having the ECG feature in Apple Watch can certainly help one detect diseases like A-fib.

In one such instance, a physician used his Apple Watch Series 4 to detect A-Fib in the person inside a restaurant. Tommy Korn MD, an ophthalmologist from San Diego, California, tweeted, “As a physician, it’s much faster to put my #applewatch4 on someone else’s wrist to detect disease (A. fib) than finding an ECG machine at a public restaurant! (Indeed, a true #mhealth guardian)”.
The tweet also included a short video wherein the doctor was seen performing ECG on the restaurant-goer.

Korn replied to one of the comments and informed that the person detected with A-fib was okay and sent to the hospital.

Apple Watch Series 4 is available in India at a starting price of Rs 40,900. The ECG feature is currently available in the US, Europe, and Hong Kong. It is yet to make its way in the Indian market.