Tim Cook Tweets Story of User's Apple Watch Detecting Atrial Fibrillation

Apple CEO Tim Cook today shared a story on Twitter of an Apple Watch that alerted its user to atrial fibrillation, potentially saving their life in the process.

ecgapplewatchinaction
Elissa Lombardo tweeted Cook with her husband's experience with Apple Watch that occurred just two days after he started wearing the device.

The smartwatch's ECG feature detected the case of A-Fib during an elevated heart rate, which led her husband to seek medical attention.

Medical professionals apparently discovered a "major blockage" in his arteries but were able to correct the problem, and two days later he was feeling fine again.

According to Lombardo, her husband presented with similar symptoms in the past, but on those occasions he never visited the emergency room to get them checked out.


This isn't the first time an Apple Watch has potentially saved someone's life. When the ECG feature launched in December in the U.S., TIME published a story about a 46-year-old Texas resident who was having trouble breathing normally.

Fortunately, since he was wearing an Apple Watch and participating in the recent Apple Heart Study, he was alerted to signs of an irregular heartbeat and went to the emergency room.

At the hospital, doctors hooked him up to an ECG machine and found signs of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and other potentially fatal complications. He spent the next few days in the hospital while doctors returned him to a normal sinus heart rhythm.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Tags: ECG, Tim Cook
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.3 Coming Soon: Here's What's New

Monday January 13, 2025 5:33 am PST by
iOS 18.3 is currently in beta for developers and public beta testers. So far, the upcoming iPhone software update is very minor in scope. Below, we outline what is new in iOS 18.3 so far. The only potential new feature coming to iPhones with iOS 18.3 so far is robot vacuum support in the Home app, but this functionality is not yet live. Apple is laying the groundwork for the feature,...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
new magsafe charger

Apple Releases Updated MagSafe Charger Firmware

Tuesday January 14, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the 25W MagSafe Charger that is compatible with the iPhone 12 and later and the latest AirPods and Apple Watch models. The updated firmware is version 2A143, up from the 2A138 firmware that the accessory shipped with. In the Settings app, you'll see a different version number than the internal firmware number. The 2024 MagSafe charger was...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 8 New Features

Thursday January 9, 2025 5:45 am PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025: More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

HomePod Mini 2 and New Apple TV Launch Timeframe Narrowed Down

Sunday January 12, 2025 4:11 pm PST by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple plans to release new HomePod mini and Apple TV models this year, and now he has provided a more precise timeframe. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said Apple is currently aiming to launch the new HomePod mini and Apple TV models "toward the end of the year." That timeframe suggests the devices will be released at some point...
severance new york promo 1

Apple Promotes Severance Season 2 Premiere With Lumon Industries Pop-Up and Visits From Actors

Tuesday January 14, 2025 3:47 pm PST by
Ahead of the season two premiere of hit TV show Severance, Apple is marketing the show with a fun Severance pop-up at the Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Apple has assembled a glass cube with workstations that are identical to the setups that Lumon employees use on the show, complete with employees "working," doing yoga, playing catch, throwing paper airplanes, sipping coffee, and...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected This Year: Here's What We Know

Wednesday January 8, 2025 7:05 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
General Apps Messages Redux

Phishing Attacks Use This Simple Trick to Defeat iPhone Message Security

Monday January 13, 2025 6:11 am PST by
A new social engineering tactic is being used by cybercriminals to trick iPhone users into disabling iMessage's built-in phishing protection, in a bid to expose them to malicious links and scams, according to BleepingComputer. The scam exploits a security feature in iMessage that automatically disables links from unknown senders. Apple told the outlet that when users reply to these messages...

Top Rated Comments

arkitect Avatar
78 months ago
Apparently you guys have healthy hearts with the mediterranean diets so will probably last in the queue ;):D
Alas, that used to be true…

;)

Leading ten fast food chains in Italy as of December 2018 ('https://www.statista.com/statistics/561541/top-fast-food-chains-on-facebook-in-italy/')



Edit: Seems they even have ambulances on standby outside.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zxxv Avatar
78 months ago
Meanwhile in the UK people are writing Tim on how they are dead and how the feature could have saved their lives.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
78 months ago
I’m in Italy and want my life saved, too! Come on Tim.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dave245 Avatar
78 months ago
In my opinion the Apple Watch is one of Apples best products to date, alongside the AirPods of course :)

Now if only Apple would release a new iMac!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbednarz Avatar
78 months ago
Meanwhile in the UK people are writing Tim on how they are dead and how the feature could have saved their lives.
They should probably be taking it up with the proper medical regulatory boards then. Don't you think Apple would like to have this feature activated around the world?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spazzcat Avatar
78 months ago
Meanwhile in the UK people are writing Tim on how they are dead and how the feature could have saved their lives.
Those people should write their government to speed up the process of approving the feature...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)