The doctor on your wrist: How smartwatches are saving lives

By Caitlin McGarry

James T. Green thought he was having a panic attack.

He took a break from work to walk around the block during a stressful day, and noticed he felt out of breath strolling up a slight incline. This isn't normal, Green thought. He had become an avid cycler in recent months and wasn't exactly out of shape. He sat down at his desk, and looked at the Apple Watch on his wrist.

His heart rate was through the roof, and the HeartWatch app he was using to check his pulse was flashing warnings. Maybe it was something more serious, he thought.

Although he had a pulmonary embolism a few years back — blood clots in his lungs — he had been taking medication, and doctors said that it was an unusual condition for someone in their mid-20s. Still, the symptoms this time were much less severe, and he was feeling stressed, so his mind didn't automatically jump to blood clots. Green's doctor told him it sounded like anxiety. But then he showed her a log of his heart rate recorded by the Apple Watch.

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