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Topics: Health, Technology, News, Science
Lucy Devine
A man has revealed how he discovered he had a serious heart issue after his smart bed informed him.
A recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine recalled how the man's bed - which was fitted with a ballistocardiogram - had alerted him to an abnormality with his heart beat.
Turns out, it had been beating slow during his sleep the night before.
A normal resting heart rate ranges between 60 and 100 beats per minute for adults. A heart rate that is too high or too low can sometimes indicate a health issue.
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The man in question decided to check the results his bed had shared alongside the data from his smartwatch and was alarmed to find the same results.
He also had been experiencing some shortness of breath and decided to immediately call his doctor who sent him to the emergency room.
At the ER, doctors discovered the man had a heart rate of around 40 beats per minute, which was slightly less than the 42 beats per minute registered the night before.
The results indicated severe bradycardia, which is when the heart beats very slowly and cannot pump enough blood around the body.
It can make the person feel dizzy, tired or weak and many will experience shortness of breath, too.
However, sometimes bradycardia doesn't cause any symptoms at all.
The man, who had a history of coronary artery disease as well as hypertension, was given an electrocardiogram (ECG) which discovered he had a complete heart block with abnormal rhythm.
Cleveland Clinic explain: "Heart block is an issue with a heartbeat signal traveling from the top chambers of your heart to the bottom chambers of your heart.
"Normally, electrical signals (impulses) travel from your heart’s upper chambers (atria) to your lower chambers (ventricles). The signal moves through your AV node, a cluster of cells that link the electrical activity from your top to bottom chambers.
"If you have heart block, the signal only makes it to your ventricles some of the time, if at all."
Doctors were able to insert a pacemaker and the man's symptoms reduced.
Cardiologist James Ip, from Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital explained that awareness about smart gadgets that can alert patients to health issues is increasing.
He told Gizmodo: “Increasing awareness of these tools can help patients and clinicians manage cardiac arrhythmias based on wearable-directed medical care.”