Woman credits her Apple Watch for saving her life
MIAMI – A woman recovering from surgery is crediting her Apple Watch for saving her life.
Kim Durkee didn't believe her Apple Watch for the first couple of nights in late May when it woke her up warning that her heart was in atrial fibrillation.
"Then the third night, the numbers went a little too high for comfort, and I just thought go to the emergency room, if they tell you it's nothing to worry about then toss the watch."
Doctors soon confirmed that her heart was beating erratically for a simple and scary reason. She had a myxoma – a rare, fast-growing tumor that was choking off her heart's blood supply and would have eventually caused a stroke.
"And they said, 'Well, how did you know you had afib?' And I said, 'My watch told me,'" Durkee recalls.
She had no other symptoms beside the afib but quickly made arrangements for a trip to Mass General where she underwent surgery on June 27th and doctors removed a four-centimeter tumor.
Durkee said, "I consider myself to be extremely lucky to be here talking to you."
The 67-year-old bought the watch to help monitor her exercise regimen and to summon emergency help should she fall. She never dreamed the watch featuring "Minnie Mouse" would help diagnose a deadly tumor.
Myxomas are more common in women than men and about 1 in 10 are inherited or passed down through families, according to the National Institutes of Health.
