US: Apple Watch detects deadly tumour, saves user's life in Maine

Tech giant Apple's smartwatch has possibly saved another life as a new report says that Apple Watch detected a rare tumor, which could have potentially been fatal to the user in the US.

According to 9To5Mac, Kim Durkee saw warnings from her Apple Watch two nights in a row that her heart was experiencing atrial fibrillation in May.

At first, she thought the wearable was giving misreadings, but then she got another warning, the report said, citing CBS News.

"The third night, the numbers went a little too high for comfort," Durkee was quoted as saying.

"Then I said, you know what, go to the emergency room if they tell you it is nothing to worry about, then toss the watch," she added.

As it turns out, it was indeed atrial fibrillation and the cause was an unknown, aggressive tumour.

"Doctors in Maine soon confirmed that her heart was beating erratically for a simple and scary reason. She had a myxoma, a rare, fast-growing tumor that was choking off her heart's blood supply and would have eventually caused a stroke," the report said.

Because of the Apple Watch warnings, doctors got her to Massachusetts General Hospital, where they removed the deadly tumor during five-hour open heart surgery.

The report mentioned that Durkee had no symptoms other than the atrial fibrillation that her Apple Watch caught. The four-centimeter and quickly growing tumour was expected to have "almost certainly" killed her had it not been found.

In March, a report said that the Apple Watch saved the life of a dentist from Yamunanagar in Haryana who bought the wearable device as a birthday gift for his wife.

Nitesh Chopra, 33, bought Apple Watch Series 6 on his wife's birthday. When he checked his electrocardiogram (ECG) on the Watch, it twice showed arrhythmia signals or irregular heartbeats. Feeling uneasy, he got himself checked at a nearby hospital. An angiography report later showed massive blockage, following which doctors recommended stent implantation.

--IANS

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