Apple Watch Series 8 alerted woman to heart condition

The Apple Watch Series 8 is credited for saving the life of a woman. 

A reader shared with 9to5Mac how his Apple Watch Series 8 saved his mother from irregular heart rhythm. His mother reportedly felt dizzy and her heart was pounding. While a blood pressure reading was normal, he decided to use the ECG feature on his Apple Watch Series 8 to check his mother's condition. 

The Apple Watch Series 8 alerted them that atrial fibrillation (AFib) was detected with a resting heart rate of more than 160bpm. To rule out any false positives, he proceeded to take three more ECG readings which gave the same alert. 

He brought his mother to the emergency room where medical staff confirmed that she was indeed experiencing AFib. The medical staff added that there was a high likelihood of her not making it through the rest of the day if not for the Apple Watch. 

The ECG feature was introduced on the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018. It records the timing and strength of electrical signals that make the heart beat. It checks these pulses to get the heart rate and see if the upper and lower chambers of the heart are in rhythm. If they are not, it is likely AFib.