How an Apple Watch saved woman from deadly tumour

A US woman credits her Apple Watch for saving her life. Kim Durkee has revealed how the fitness device led to the diagnosis of her deadly tumour, which in turn helped her get timely treatment.

"It truly saved my life," Durkee, from Maine, told WBZ-TV.

Durkee was not always an Apple Watch devotee. In fact, back in May, she thought her smartwatch was malfunctioning when it warned her that her heart was in atrial fibrillation – which is an irregular and often rapid heart rhythm that can cause blood clots.

The first two times that Durkee’s Apple Watch woke her up at night to warn her about atrial fibrillation, she thought it was a glitch or the watch was giving misreadings.

"The third night the numbers went a little too high for comfort," she said. "Then I said you know what, go to the emergency room if they tell you it's nothing to worry about then toss the watch."

But doctors soon confirmed that Durkee had a myxoma, which is a fast-growing tumour that would have eventually cut off her heart’s blood supply, causing a stroke.

Doctors were surprised that Durkee came for a check-up as she had no other symptoms. "They said 'Well how did you know you had A-fib?' and I said 'Because my watch told me,'" she said.

The 67-year-old from Maine was able to get surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital on June 27, during which doctors removed a four-centimeter tumour that would have probably killed her if she had not received help in time.

She is now recovering at home and receiving messages from several people who say they bought an Apple Watch after hearing her story.