Apple Watch is credited with saving lives more often than not. At the recent keynote where the Cupertino tech giant launched the iPhone 11 series and Apple Watch Series 5, Apple shared several cases where its smartwatch saved lives. But we have heard of many more such instances and here's another one involving a US hiker.
Apple Watch Series 4 was set on a rescue mission for a 28-year-old James Prudenciano, who'd fallen over a steep cliff while hiking with his date Paige Paruso in New Jersey's Hartshorne Woods Park. The horrific incident, which could have turned fatal if not for Apple Watch's life-saving feature, took place last week.
"I was screaming that I'm going to die because I really felt I was going to die. There was no way out of this for me. I literally said my last goodbyes," Prudenciano told News 12. Prudenciano had taken a serious fall while trying to slide down the cliff but found out later that there was nothing below. Since it was after sunset, Prudenciano couldn't see in the woods. Prudenciano landed straight into the river in the Hartshorne Woods Park and landed on a rock, the report added.
Apple Watch Series 4 strapped to Prudenciano's wrist detected a hard fall and dialled 911. Prudenciano's mother also received three text messages notifying about her son's emergency situation. The couple was rescued by a boat and taken to the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment. Prudenciano suffered three fractures in his back due to the fall.
The "Fall Detection" feature is available in Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5, which gets activated when a sudden fall is detected. If the person wearing the watch doesn't dismiss the alert within one minute of falling, an emergency call is placed to the local helpline, in this case, 911. Apple Watch will then send out a text message with your location to the emergency contact you've added.
Instances like these restore our faith in technology. This is not the first time an Apple Watch has been credited with saving a life. If you recall in September, a biker had met with an accident and Apple Watch detected the fall and called 911. Within 30 minutes, the man was taken to the hospital through EMS.
Apple Watch also has other useful features like ECG, which has also saved many lives by detecting an irregular heartbeat in time. In September, a 30-year-old man was prompted by an irregular heartbeat, so he visited the hospital. As it turned out, the watch warning prevented a stroke or heart attack by an early diagnosis of the atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is the second most common cause of death in the world.
But it is important to note never to panic if an Apple Watch detects an AFib as it only uses two electrodes, one on the crystal case below and another in the Digital Crown, and it could be a false alert. In comparison, the hospital instruments are more sophisticated with 10 electrodes to accurately identify a threat.
