Georgia man credits watch for life-saving trip to hospital
EVANS, Ga. — Keith Simpson is a pretty tech savvy guy.
The 43-year-old always wants the latest gadgets and is a pro at installing any type of tech equipment, according to his wife, Monica Simpson. But one of his tech devices is especially dear to him after it wound up saving his life.
On Nov. 7 while watching TV with his wife, Simpson began feeling sluggish and not himself. He also was having chest pains resembling heartburn.
“He just looked kind of flushed,” Monica said.
He looked at his Apple Watch and realized his heart rate was much lower than usual. Normally his resting heart rate is between 65 to 70, he said. That evening, it was 49. Monica retrieved a blood pressure monitor and his blood pressure was extremely high.
Monica wanted to go to the ER but Keith wanted to wait until his regularly scheduled appointment later that week. They called the doctor to see what to do.
“He said, ‘No. Get to the hospital right now,’” Keith said.
At the Doctors Hospital emergency room, Keith underwent rounds of blood work and a CT scan before the doctor found what was wrong — seven blood clots in his lungs. He was admitted to the hospital for a few days and began medication. In January, he was told he was clotfree and he will continue to see a specialist every few months to monitor.
Keith Simpson uses his watch to track his pulse rate.
Keith said if the watch had not alerted him that his heart rate was low, he probably would not have gone to the doctor immediately and the outcome could have been completely different.
“Generally when I have an episode like that, my first thing is to sleep it off, especially now because of the pandemic,” he said.
Keith did get one more perk from the experience — a new Apple Watch 6 in December for his Christmas and birthday gift.
“[My wife] said if that saved your life, let’s upgrade you to the next one,” Keith said.
And while he normally discards or donates old tech devices, Keith is holding on to the one that saved his life.