Woman Claims Smartwatch's Heart Rate Tracker Saved Her Life
MONTGOMERY, Ohio (CBS Local) -- Smartwatches can track everything from how many steps we take to how well we're sleeping. An Ohio woman says they can also save your life.
Debbie Copeland-Bloom said her heart wasn't getting the right electrical signals, which affected how it pumped blood.
"My heart function was at 25 percent," she told WCPO.
Copeland-Bloom said she didn't feel anything unusual. But her smartwatch, which tracked her heart rate, alerted her to the danger.
The gadget showed her heart rate was at 155 to 165 beats per minute, far higher than the normal heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute for adults.
The Omron HeartGuide wearable device is displayed during a press event for CES 2019 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on January 6, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Credit: David Becker/Getty Images)
Copeland-Bloom still didn't believe she had a high heart rate, so she bought a second device. But it showed the same thing.
Her doctor ran some tests and sent her to the emergency room.
"I believe that the watch saved my life," Copeland-Bloom said.
Mercy Health Cardiologist Jefferson Burroughs said it's becoming common for people to use smart gadgets to track their heart rhythm remotely and send the data to physicians.
"These types of devices help us more frequently manage arrhythmia we know exists," Burroughs said.
But he cautions that devices that track heart rate and rhythm can have a false positive rate of up to 30 percent, so consult a physician any time you have question.
