Kansas Nurses Call Woman ‘The Apple Watch Patient’ After Device Saves Her Life

Kansas woman Heather Hendershot has been called “The Apple Watch Patient” by several nurses after the device nearly saved her life.

Hendershot said that while she was watching TV at 9 p.m. on a Saturday her Apple Watch began notifying her that her heart rate was higher than normal at 120bpm. For reference the American Heart Association considers a normal resting heart rate to be between 60-100 bpm.

The Apple Watch alerted her of a rapid heartbeat every 10 minutes, with her resting heart rate reaching as high as 160 bpm. In an interview, she told WIBW:

“It vibrated and then it beeped at me and told me that my resting heart rate was too high. So, I checked it myself and it was correct.”

Hendershot did not feel any other symptoms of high blood pressure, so she went to bed assuming it was nothing. But thanks to her husband being a worry wart, Hendershot went to an urgent care clinic on the very next day.

The doctor quickly proceeded to send her to an emergency room where Stormont Vail Health nurses dubbed her as “The Apple Watch Patient”. After performing some tests, the emergency room doctors noticed that her thyroids are out of whack and was later diagnosed with moderate-to-severe hyperthyroidism.

Hendershot did not have any other symptoms, which surprised the endocrinologist, who treated her. She said:

“I’ve been doing this 25 years and it’s the first time ever I’ve heard someone tell me they didn’t notice anything and were later diagnosed with severe hyperthyroidism.”

If the condition was not detected, it could have lead to a life-threatening thyroid storm. Hendershot said she will not be taking her Apple Watch off.

[via The Hamilton Spectator]