Apple Watch saves man's life, detecting potentially deadly heart condition

An Apple Watch may have helped save a man's life by detecting a potentially deadly heart condition called atrial fibrillation, or "AFib".

46-year-old Ed Dentel enjoys an active, healthy life with his family.

The self-confessed gadget lover downloaded the ECG app, what we usually call an EKG, on his Apple Watch.

This new feature can indicate whether your heart rhythm shows signs of atrial fibrillation - a serious form of irregular heartbeat, which can lead to strokes, blood clots or heart attacks.

"As soon as it came back it said 'atrial fibrillation' and I thought that's odd," Dentel said. "OK, it's just a glitch. Tried it on my left wrist on top: AFib. Left wrist on bottom: AFib. Right on top: AFib, AFib, AFib. I looked at it, I said there might be something to this."

Concerned there might be a problem, he headed to the hospital where doctors confirmed he was in AFib.

This isn't the first time the Apple Watch has saved a life.

Back in April, 18-year-old Deanna Recktenwald from Lithia, Florida, was at church when she got a notification from her Apple Watch: Her resting heart rate had skyrocketed to 160 beats per minute, well above a normal rate that the Mayo Clinic says is about 60 to 100 beats.

As it turns out, she was in kidney failure.

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