Apple Watch Alerts Man to Heart Condition in Yet Another Potentially Life-Saving Story

February is American Heart Month, and Apple marked the occasion today with a Newsroom feature highlighting how the Apple Watch potentially saved the life of 59-year-old Bob March. In short, the Apple Watch alerted March to irregular heart rate readings that ultimately led to doctors discovering that he had arrhythmia.

apple heart health month lori and bob 02032021 big

Bob and Lori March

Bob was gifted the Apple Watch by his wife Lori for their anniversary. "We truly believe that it saved his life," she said. "It doesn't get any bigger than that."

The story:

Bob, a former college-level athlete who also ran half marathons as an adult, immediately started exploring his new Apple Watch. He discovered the Heart Rate app and though he was relaxed, his first reading showed 127 beats per minute. That was high for Bob, but he brushed it off as a fluke.

"I thought, 'this is nuts,'" Bob says. "If I was easing into a run, or cooling down, I'd definitely be hitting numbers like that."

Later that day, Bob and Lori noticed more erratic heart rate readings. "I started running and it started going down but then it would come back up. So that's when I realized something may not be right here."

The couple saw similar patterns over the next few days, prompting Lori to schedule an appointment for a routine physical.

"I figured the doctor would tell me to practice breathing, try yoga, cut back on sodium or something of that sort," says Bob. "Instead, 10 minutes after meeting with me, he had me in an ambulance headed to the ER."

Doctors found an arrhythmia, which caused Bob's heart to work in overdrive. They said it was like he had been running a constant marathon for the past few weeks and if left unchecked, the results could have been devastating.

March ultimately underwent successful heart surgery, and after a few months, he is now thankful to be back to running alongside his dog. It's yet another example of how the Apple Watch's health features potentially saved a life.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...

Top Rated Comments

melgross Avatar
63 months ago
I don’t know how these particular people get picked, or even known. Over two years ago, my watch alerted me to a problem. I ended up in the hospital, and I was told that if it weren’t for the warning my watch gave me, I could have had a heart attack around two days later.

i also had a catheter, and a couple of days after I got home, with that, my watch again alerted me. I had developed sepsis, so back in the hospital for another week. My specialist said that one more day, and I might not have survived.

i didn’t send a note to Apple about this, and I don’t know how people get selected. But I can pretty much say without question, that far more people are saved by their watches than we ever hear about.

the only thing I’m skeptical about is the fall detection. I had to turn mine off in my Series 5, and now in the 6. I can be standing or sitting, doing nothing involving much movement, and it will come on, so I have to tap that I didn’t fall, so it doesn’t ring emergency services. I don’t understand what the problem is, because when it first came out, people tested it, in the gym and elsewhere, and didn’t trigger it.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
b13o0r12e3 Avatar
63 months ago
The Apple product I once trashed the most is now the Apple product I advocate the most.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chodges Avatar
63 months ago
This is awesome. Glad Bob’s okay now and if there was ever a reason for wearing a smart watch......
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jwh49 Avatar
63 months ago
The Apple Watch is exactly what alerted me to my high heart rate while sleeping leading to my diagnosis of A-Fib over a year ago. When I told another doctor about this just a month ago, he said that I was the 2nd person THAT WEEK who told him that.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Taz Mangus Avatar
63 months ago
With all the death that is happening now as a result of COVID, really nice to see a story like this one where technology is saving lives.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
McKodiak Avatar
63 months ago
I've been doing the Apple Fitness+ rowing workouts everyday since the beginning of December. For the most part, I was fairly sedentary. I was tracking my max heart rate using the Apple Watch. After a recent night's sleep, I was shocked that I had an alert that my heart rate dipped below 40bpm, to 39bpm for 10 minutes. I was a bit concerned but basically found out my heart was getting stronger from all the rowing which has me having a lower resting and sleeping heart rate.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)