Tim Cook Tweets Story of User's Apple Watch Detecting Atrial Fibrillation

Apple CEO Tim Cook today shared a story on Twitter of an Apple Watch that alerted its user to atrial fibrillation, potentially saving their life in the process.

ecgapplewatchinaction
Elissa Lombardo tweeted Cook with her husband's experience with Apple Watch that occurred just two days after he started wearing the device.

The smartwatch's ECG feature detected the case of A-Fib during an elevated heart rate, which led her husband to seek medical attention.

Medical professionals apparently discovered a "major blockage" in his arteries but were able to correct the problem, and two days later he was feeling fine again.

According to Lombardo, her husband presented with similar symptoms in the past, but on those occasions he never visited the emergency room to get them checked out.


This isn't the first time an Apple Watch has potentially saved someone's life. When the ECG feature launched in December in the U.S., TIME published a story about a 46-year-old Texas resident who was having trouble breathing normally.

Fortunately, since he was wearing an Apple Watch and participating in the recent Apple Heart Study, he was alerted to signs of an irregular heartbeat and went to the emergency room.

At the hospital, doctors hooked him up to an ECG machine and found signs of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and other potentially fatal complications. He spent the next few days in the hospital while doctors returned him to a normal sinus heart rhythm.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Tags: ECG, Tim Cook
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red Green

The 30+ Best Black Friday Apple Deals on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 6:46 am PST by
Black Friday is finally here, and as always this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...

Top Rated Comments

arkitect Avatar
90 months ago
Apparently you guys have healthy hearts with the mediterranean diets so will probably last in the queue ;):D
Alas, that used to be true…

;)

Leading ten fast food chains in Italy as of December 2018 ('https://www.statista.com/statistics/561541/top-fast-food-chains-on-facebook-in-italy/')



Edit: Seems they even have ambulances on standby outside.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zxxv Avatar
90 months ago
Meanwhile in the UK people are writing Tim on how they are dead and how the feature could have saved their lives.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
90 months ago
I’m in Italy and want my life saved, too! Come on Tim.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dave245 Avatar
90 months ago
In my opinion the Apple Watch is one of Apples best products to date, alongside the AirPods of course :)

Now if only Apple would release a new iMac!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbednarz Avatar
90 months ago
Meanwhile in the UK people are writing Tim on how they are dead and how the feature could have saved their lives.
They should probably be taking it up with the proper medical regulatory boards then. Don't you think Apple would like to have this feature activated around the world?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spazzcat Avatar
90 months ago
Meanwhile in the UK people are writing Tim on how they are dead and how the feature could have saved their lives.
Those people should write their government to speed up the process of approving the feature...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)