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Don’t be stupid and ignore the heart warnings - writing this from the hospital right now

soulreaver99

soulreaver99

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 15, 2010
3,729
6,828
Southern California
I've been in the hospital since Tuesday. I had to get transferred from my local hospital to Heart Hospital Austin. What initially seemed like the flu turned into pneumonia, which spread to my heart and caused numerous issues with other organs, including my liver and kidneys.

I experienced significant shortness of breath, and my Apple Watch issued several high resting heart rate warnings, which I foolishly ignored and shrugged off. In fact, I believe these warnings started popping up as early as October or November, and I was getting unusually tired quicker than usual. What’s worse, it was reading a high heart rate almost every night.

Never ignore those warnings, and if you're experiencing shortness of breath, go to the ER, even if you think it's nothing.

What finally triggered me to go to the hospital was not only the nausea and shortness of breath that I thought was just the flu along with GERD, but my feet started to swell. My doctor friend heard this from my wife and insisted I go to the ER immediately.

While my Apple Watch didn't indicate AFIB, the doctor diagnosed me with atrial flutter. My heart's function had dropped to 10% and was beating out of rhythm. They had to shock my heart back into rhythm on Thursday. I definitely feel a lot better now and am hoping to be discharged in the next few days.

Again, take your health seriously because if I hadn't gone to the ER in time, I wouldn't be sharing this message.

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soulreaver99 said:
I've been in the hospital since Tuesday. I had to get transferred from my local hospital to Heart Hospital Austin. What initially seemed like the flu turned into pneumonia, which spread to my heart and caused numerous issues with other organs, including my liver and kidneys.

I experienced significant shortness of breath, and my Apple Watch issued several high resting heart rate warnings, which I foolishly ignored and shrugged off. In fact, I believe these warnings started popping up as early as October or November, and I was getting unusually tired quicker than usual. What’s worse, it was reading a high heart rate almost every night.

Never ignore those warnings, and if you're experiencing shortness of breath, go to the ER, even if you think it's nothing.

What finally triggered me to go to the hospital was not only the nausea and shortness of breath that I thought was just the flu along with GERD, but my feet started to swell. My doctor friend heard this from my wife and insisted I go to the ER immediately.

While my Apple Watch didn't indicate AFIB, the doctor diagnosed me with atrial flutter. My heart's function had dropped to 10% and was beating out of rhythm. They had to shock my heart back into rhythm on Thursday. I definitely feel a lot better now and am hoping to be discharged in the next few days.

Again, take your health seriously because if I hadn't gone to the ER in time, I wouldn't be sharing this message.

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Thanks for sharing, hope you feel better soon and have a full recovery!
 
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Wow! Glad you're in the right place and getting better. As a group, men are pretty dense about our health. Many years ago, I put off severe abdominal pain, fever, and cramps for a week because I had a thesis to finish. I learned that a burst appendix and gangrene are a bad tradeoff for rescheduling a meeting.

I guess the rule is: if it's not normal for you, go see the doctor.:)
 
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soulreaver99 said:
I've been in the hospital since Tuesday. I had to get transferred from my local hospital to Heart Hospital Austin. What initially seemed like the flu turned into pneumonia, which spread to my heart and caused numerous issues with other organs, including my liver and kidneys.

I experienced significant shortness of breath, and my Apple Watch issued several high resting heart rate warnings, which I foolishly ignored and shrugged off. In fact, I believe these warnings started popping up as early as October or November, and I was getting unusually tired quicker than usual. What’s worse, it was reading a high heart rate almost every night.

Never ignore those warnings, and if you're experiencing shortness of breath, go to the ER, even if you think it's nothing.

What finally triggered me to go to the hospital was not only the nausea and shortness of breath that I thought was just the flu along with GERD, but my feet started to swell. My doctor friend heard this from my wife and insisted I go to the ER immediately.

While my Apple Watch didn't indicate AFIB, the doctor diagnosed me with atrial flutter. My heart's function had dropped to 10% and was beating out of rhythm. They had to shock my heart back into rhythm on Thursday. I definitely feel a lot better now and am hoping to be discharged in the next few days.

Again, take your health seriously because if I hadn't gone to the ER in time, I wouldn't be sharing this message.

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Hope you get well soon and recover fully and fast! Take care of yourself.
 
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soulreaver99 said:
I've been in the hospital since Tuesday. I had to get transferred from my local hospital to Heart Hospital Austin. What initially seemed like the flu turned into pneumonia, which spread to my heart and caused numerous issues with other organs, including my liver and kidneys.

I experienced significant shortness of breath, and my Apple Watch issued several high resting heart rate warnings, which I foolishly ignored and shrugged off. In fact, I believe these warnings started popping up as early as October or November, and I was getting unusually tired quicker than usual. What’s worse, it was reading a high heart rate almost every night.

Never ignore those warnings, and if you're experiencing shortness of breath, go to the ER, even if you think it's nothing.

What finally triggered me to go to the hospital was not only the nausea and shortness of breath that I thought was just the flu along with GERD, but my feet started to swell. My doctor friend heard this from my wife and insisted I go to the ER immediately.

While my Apple Watch didn't indicate AFIB, the doctor diagnosed me with atrial flutter. My heart's function had dropped to 10% and was beating out of rhythm. They had to shock my heart back into rhythm on Thursday. I definitely feel a lot better now and am hoping to be discharged in the next few days.

Again, take your health seriously because if I hadn't gone to the ER in time, I wouldn't be sharing this message.

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oh wow man, I don't know you but I am glad you got help and getting better. And thanks for sharing your experience to spread awareness to not ignore the warnings.
 
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Phew, close call! Great post, and glad you're doing OK now.

“While my Apple Watch didn't indicate AFIB, the doctor diagnosed me with atrial flutter.” — was this using the ECG/EKG app, which didn't pick up the AFib? Kinda surprised, as I'd heard that feature worked pretty reliably.
 
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soulreaver99 said:
I've been in the hospital since Tuesday. I had to get transferred from my local hospital to Heart Hospital Austin. What initially seemed like the flu turned into pneumonia, which spread to my heart and caused numerous issues with other organs, including my liver and kidneys.

I experienced significant shortness of breath, and my Apple Watch issued several high resting heart rate warnings, which I foolishly ignored and shrugged off. In fact, I believe these warnings started popping up as early as October or November, and I was getting unusually tired quicker than usual. What’s worse, it was reading a high heart rate almost every night.

Never ignore those warnings, and if you're experiencing shortness of breath, go to the ER, even if you think it's nothing.

What finally triggered me to go to the hospital was not only the nausea and shortness of breath that I thought was just the flu along with GERD, but my feet started to swell. My doctor friend heard this from my wife and insisted I go to the ER immediately.

While my Apple Watch didn't indicate AFIB, the doctor diagnosed me with atrial flutter. My heart's function had dropped to 10% and was beating out of rhythm. They had to shock my heart back into rhythm on Thursday. I definitely feel a lot better now and am hoping to be discharged in the next few days.

Again, take your health seriously because if I hadn't gone to the ER in time, I wouldn't be sharing this message.

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Get better dude, you are one of the all-timers here!
 
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Asthmatic Kitty said:
Phew, close call! Great post, and glad you're doing OK now.

“While my Apple Watch didn't indicate AFIB, the doctor diagnosed me with atrial flutter.” — was this using the ECG/EKG app, which didn't pick up the AFib? Kinda surprised, as I'd heard that feature worked pretty reliably.
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Yes, was using EKG app.

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soulreaver99 said:
Yes, was using EKG app.

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Wow, I never noticed that before! I hope you feel better soon, my friend! Take all the time you need to heal and take care of yourself. Don’t forget to take your medicine too, so your body stays strong. 😊
djcerla said:
Yup. My friend, an Apple fanboy with a modern Apple Watch, died this way.

He told me the frequent warnings were “an error”

He was 43
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Hey, since you’re all wearing Apple Watches, make sure to check out the Health Checklist in the health app on your iPhone. Turn on all the crash detection features (if your iPhone and/or Apple Watch have them), all heart rate notifications for low and high heart rates, EKG (except for Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 3 and earlier models), fall detection (it can also replace crash detection if your Apple Watch doesn’t have it but your iPhone does), and blood oxygen (if you have it). Also, double-check all your medical ID details and assign close friends and family members to your emergency contacts on your iPhone. These contacts will automatically be notified if fall or crash detection + emergency SOS happens.

Series 9/10 users and second gen Apple Watch Ultra users, turn on sleep apnea alerts too!
 
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Thank you for sharing this PSA. I'm glad you are on the road to recovery. Here in Australia, we had a story on the news about a young woman whose Apple Watch alerted her that she had risk of diabetes. By heeding its warning, she was able to intervene early and keep her health under control. I have personally been motivated to take my cardiovascular fitness more seriously after repeated heart warnings from my Apple Watch. I walk frequently and run frequently. It feels really good watching my health app tell me my CO2 levels are improving. Everyone, Apple's health features are there for a reason!
 
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I hope you will make a quick recovery - all the best to you! The Apple Watch is such a powerful and useful tool. You should send this message to Apple, you might get a message from Tim Cook :)
 
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