A man said his life was saved thanks to his Apple smart watch.
The clever device alerted him to his dangerously low heart rate - after his heart stopped 138 times in 48 hours. David Last, 54, received the new Apple watch from his wife, Sarah, 50, for his birthday in April.
Straight away, the watch readings showed David had a resting heart rate as low as 30bpm as many as 2,885 times. Resting heart rates for an adult male are usually between 60-100bpm.
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David initially thought the watch was faulty and didn't take much notice of the readings - despite Sarah urging him to get checked out. Eventually the dad-of-four went to see his doctor who referred him to a cardiologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where he was booked in for an MRI scan in May.
The MRI results came back two months later and David was referred back to the consultant, who quickly gave him a 48-hour ECG test to monitor his abnormal heart rate. David only realised something was desperately wrong when he had five missed calls from the hospital asking him to come back in as a matter of urgency.
He was told he had third degree heart block, after the junction box in his heart had worn down and he was at risk of sudden cardiac death. David underwent life-saving surgery to fit a pacemaker - which keeps his heart beating in rhythm - on the August 12 at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and says he's feeling "relieved" and has "a lot more energy".
David, an IT developer, from Norwich, Norfolk, said: "My wife keeps saying that she saved my life, and she's not wrong. If she hadn't had bought me my Apple watch for my birthday, I wouldn't be here.
"I will always be eternally grateful to her for it. Apart from charging it, it's always staying on me now. It's incredible that it can monitor your heart rate and alert you if there is a problem."
After undergoing a series of tests and scans, David arrived at Norfolk And Norwich University Hospital and was told the severity of the situation. He said: "The hospital sounded really panicky on the phone. As soon as I got there, they had a bed ready immediately.
"I got the watch in April so if I hadn't done anything it could have been really bad. The pre-surgery consultation explained that my case was unusual, and they had extensive meetings about what they were going to do.
"They explained that I had something called 'heart block'. The junction box in my heart had stopped working and failed to pass on electrical pulses. My heart had stopped 138 times in 10 second intervals over a 48-hour period."
David learned this would happen mainly while he was asleep - causing another part of his heart to kickstart the blood flow, before the process would repeat. David and Sarah got married in between his MRI and ECG tests on June 18, unaware of the seriousness of the issue, with David describing it as 'life as normal'.
He said: "I had no symptoms whatsoever. We even went to Italy for 10 days for our honeymoon - I had no idea anything was wrong. Even the doctors were amazed."
David spent two nights in hospital before having surgery for cardiac resynchronisation therapy - also known as a three-lead pacemaker - on August 12. David's surgery involved making a pocket in his upper chest, to implant the pacemaker disc and then feeding the wires through the veins and attaching them to the top and bottom of the heart - and he was told it was successful.
His newly-fitted device will now sense any abnormal rhythms and help both heart ventricles pump blood in sync. But because of the electrical activity, David can no longer use the induction hob in his kitchen.
An active man, David said he and his family have never had any history of heart complications. He said: "I'm really active - I walk and use the treadmill at home a lot. We've never had any heart problems in the family at all. So I was quite shocked when I found out. It hasn't really sunk in yet."
David spent the rest of the afternoon recovering in hospital after the surgery before being discharged, and said if it wasn't for his wife, Sarah, he wouldn't be here. David said: "Sarah really looked after me. She keeps saying how proud of herself she is - and she should be, she saved my life."
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