Apple Watch sends man to hospital

Humans, like all living beings, are fallible. Fortunately, our species has evolved to the point of becoming the most intelligent on the planet. This attribute allows us to make great advances in the field ofmedicine, with feats that bring us ever closer to record longevity: this is the beginning of the definition of transhumanism.

Moreover, nowadays, even individuals can benefit from technological advances inhealth. Thus, there are more and more wearables capable of tracking daily activity in order to provide detailed graphs of our performance, but also to alert us in the event of a problem. This is, for example, what theApple Watchand many of its competitors thanks to an integrated heart rate monitor.

A banal story?

A few days ago, a man living in South America found himself in theEMERGENCIESafter his smartwatch detected that his heart was beating too fast. The device, programmed to alert its user in the event of an abnormality, provided doctors with a detailed summary of the heart rhythm allowing them to diagnose… From thetachycardia.

If the information was reported in a number of international media (the patient in question has an accountFacebookverified with more than 1,600 subscribers), it is no less subject to reflection. Indeed, even if the victim finally received a thank you message from Tim Cook, there is a chance that the unfortunate event they faced was more of a waste of time than anything else.

Everyone – or almost – is affected

For what ? Because tachycardia is just a disordervery commonin the world population - I am affected by it myself - and that it rarely requires treatment. We live very well with it, without it causing any discomfort, danger or pain, to the point that we often don't notice it or no longer notice it. Understand that if you happen to feel your heart racing a little too often, there is no need to worry as long as the problem is neither permanent nor regular.

This is also the conclusion delivered by the practitioners in charge of the case, letting the Internet user leave after a few minutes, time for him to recount his misadventure on his profile, with supporting photos. The reason for his illness would even be due... To theanxiety. Doesn't this remind you of a stressful time in your life or your heartbeat accelerated? Yes, like when you play sports, party a little too much or get scared, it can happen to anyone.

So, should we thankApple? In reality, it is important to nuance his role in the affair, becausehospitals are increasingly notified of false positives or minor accidents by their smartwatch, leaving other potential more violent accidents to be dealt with more slowly. Furthermore, there are real situations that are much more serious and risky in which the gadget has good reason to call the firefighters or the SAMU, as is the case in the tweet below published just yesterday.

Got hit by a car this morning on way to work. I don’t have a lot of memories from the event but Apple Watch automatically called 911 (I was unconscious) and paramedics were within minutes. Technology truly feels amazing sometimes.

— William Bout (@williambout)January 10, 2020