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Apple Watch Heart Monitor Saves Life of Teen Suffering From Kidney Disease

If you wear an Apple Watch or something similar, you may want to pay attention to what it can help diagnose. 

Brittany Vincent

May 1, 2018 2:45 PM

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If you wear an Apple Watch or other wrist-based device that tracks your heart rate, you probably don't give it much thought. You see your heart rate recorded, and you write it off, right? Not if you have higher numbers than usual, which is exactly what happened to 18-year-old Deanna Recktenwald of Tampa, FL. While spending time at church, her Apple Watch notified her of something particularly chilling: her heart rate was hovering around 190. It warned her that she should seek medical care straight away.

As you may well be aware, your resting heart rate should be at more like 65 or so, depending on your body mass, weight, genetics, etc. If it's that high when you're sitting and resting, there's something amiss. Recktenwald's mother, a registered nurse, took her to an urgent care center and then to an emergency room, where she was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. She had no prior symptoms and had no idea she was dealing with such a condition, so in essence the Apple Watch took the first steps in saving Deanna's life.

Her mother Stacey wrote to Apple to thank the company for helping find out the hidden health issue lurking within Deanna:

"If it wasn't for her Apple watch alarming her about her HR we wouldn't have discovered her kidney issue. I honestly feel your Apple Watch saved my daughter's life," Stacey said in her letter. "I am forever grateful to Apple for developing such an amazing, lifesaving product."

She received a personal note from Tim Cook himself, thanking the family for sharing the story, which is an inspirational one if you use your watch a lot to check your heart rate. Make sure you pay attention if you see something wonky. You never know what might end up saving your life.

Brittany Vincent

Senior Editor

Fueled by horror, rainbow-sugar-pixel-rushes, and video games, Brittany is a Senior Editor at Shacknews who thrives on surrealism and ultraviolence. Follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake and check out her portfolio for more. Like a fabulous shooter once said, get psyched!