A Canadian man says the Apple Watch helped to save his life

In August 2015, he began to feel bad and thought he might have had a fever or the flu. But after Anselmo took a look at his new Apple Watch, the builder saw that his heart rate was extremely elevated, indicating a possible heart attack.

Anselmo recently shared his interesting story with The Sun:

“I have a very low pulse normally – about 50. Most people are 55 to 75. I brought it up and – and it was 210 bbm. I turned to my helper and said: We need an ambulance.”

After heading to the hospital, doctors were able to clear the blockage so the 62-year-old wouldn’t suffer any more issues. And the treatment was just in time:

“They told me that if I had gone home and gone to bed – as many people do – I would likely have had another, more serious bout in the middle of the night. Those second attacks are the ones that kill. That is a common problem.”

Ironically, Anselmo is a big watch fan and owns more than 35 different models. But after his health scare, all of the others have been locked up tight as he now only wears the Apple Watch.

While all of the heart rate information taken by the Apple Watch is saved in the native Health app, there are a number of third-party apps that can help you make the most of the data.

One of my favorite is HeartWatch. Back in February, the app was updated to version 2.0 with a number of improvements.

The powerful app can show your heart rate during waking, regular, workout, and sleep zones. It can also notify you of high and low beats per minute while also providing daily and sleep summaries. A complication can also show your current heart rate directly on a watch face.

Designed for the iPhone, HeartWatch can be purchased now on the App Store for $2.99.

Here’s an interactive preview from our sister site WatchAware.