In the past 10 years or so since the Apple Watch was released on April 24, 2015, there have been many cases where the smartwatch has been able to save a life thanks to one of its health-related features. Pregnant women are increasingly turning to smartwatches like the Apple Watch and ringsto track certain health metrics during their pregnancy.
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One doctor who can't help but agree on the importance of such monitoring is Dr. Rachel Manalo, who is not only a pediatric cardiologist (meaning she treats children with heart conditions) but is also one of the pregnant women who was smart enough to wear an Apple Watch during her pregnancy. When she was pregnant in early 2022, at 18 weeks gestation, Dr. Manalo felt her heart beating rapidly and then skipping beats. When it kept happening, she knew that wasn't a good sign.
She also felt short of breath and tired after seeing a patient. When she reached 33 weeks, the rapid heartbeats wouldn't go away, and she used the Electrocardiogram (EKG) monitor on her Apple Watch to monitor her heart activity and heart rate.
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Her EKG was “unclear.” Instead of beating at the usual 60-100 beats per minute, Dr. Manalo’s heart was beating 150 times per minute for over 40 minutes. If you watch a lot of medical shows, you might be familiar with her diagnosis of ventricular tachycardia. This means that the lower part of her heart wasn’t working as well as the upper part and wasn’t getting enough oxygen into her blood. Plus, her heart was already working for two.
The doctor rushed to Los Angeles where she saw Dr. Tina Nguyen who said that this type of heart problem, if left untreated, can lead to a heart attack.
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Dr. Nguyen warns that an Apple Watch owner, especially pregnant women, should not self-diagnose and interpret the data unless they are a doctor. “Raw data is not a diagnosis, right? It’s just symptoms,” he said. So if you have symptoms, you should see your doctor right away for an exam.
Source: phonearena
