Apple Watch saves life: Delhi woman thanks Tim Cook for 'precise and advanced' features; CEO reacts

Another in a series of lives saved by the Apple Watch: Delhi woman escaped what the doctors termed a "close call" after her Apple Watch's heart rate feature detected her "abnormally high" heart rate and alerted her.

Sneha Sinha, a policy researcher in Delhi, told HT Tech that she had sought medical attention only after her Apple Watch's ECG feature indicated the onset of Atrial Fibrillation (AFib).

AFib is an irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm. It can lead to blood clots in the heart and increases the risk of stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications.

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Sinha, who had no pre-existing health conditions, said she later emailed Apple CEO Tim Cook to thank him for developing the watch with such “precise and advanced” features and claimed that he reacted promptly.

"As an avid traveller, I hike and trek in high-altitude mountain regions above 15,000-16,000 feet where oxygen levels are often low,” Sinha told HT Tech.

She told HT Tech she had returned home after a usual day when she noticed heart palpitations. She said she used her Apple Watch to monitor it. However, she did not initially take the spike in her heart rate seriously. 

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“Despite repeated checks and ECGs showing a higher heart rate, I tried deep breathing, hoping it would resolve in sometime. I thought it may have occurred due to some reason and should calm down soon,” she said.

"When it persisted for over 1.5 hours, the ECG indicated the onset of AFib. At that point, I decided to seek medical attention and called a friend to take me to the hospital,” she added.

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Sinha told HT Tech that she later wrote to Cook using an email address she found on the internet to thank him.  

"I wanted to express my deep gratitude for developing such precise and advanced heart monitoring features. The Apple Watch has demonstrated how innovation and technology can revolutionise healthcare and save lives," Sinha said. 

After I shared my story, Cook responded “within just a few hours”, Sinha said, adding that he wrote back, saying: “I'm so glad you sought medical attention and received the treatment you needed. Thanks so much for sharing your story with us.”