Here’s how an Apple Watch saved the life of a New York-based cyclist

Gone are the days when having a smartwatch would only mean tracking steps or blood oxygen levels. Today, smartwatches come power-packed with multiple features including the ability to detect blood pressure levels or get ECG readings. 

While Apple, in particular, always advises users to get checked by a general physician as an added layer of safety, there have been plenty of instances where the Apple Watch has been instrumental in saving lives. In another example, a New York-based cyclist found himself out of danger, courtesy of his Apple Watch.

How an Apple Watch saved Eric Zollinger's life

49-year-old cyclist, Eric Zollinger, escaped what can only be known as a harrowing accident because of the fall detection feature on Apple Watch. According to a New York Post report, the cyclist encountered a ‘hidden’ pothole on his path, which was caused by harsh climatic conditions.

While riding his cycle through the floodwaters, Zollinger was thrown off the path and jostled onto the pavement. While he was able to gather himself and head home, he later realised the significant amount of blood loss from his nose and he collapsed in the shower – this time hitting himself on the side of the bathtub. 

Fortunately for him, his Apple Watch was immediately alerted with the fall detection feature and it promptly connected him to 911. Zollinger gained consciousness after a while and was able to hear the operator’s voice from the other side of the smartwatch. He was then provided with additional assistance and was saved in time with urgent medical attention. 

Zollinger later acknowledged the watch’s swift response in a statement. He stated how he would not “know how things would have gone” had it not been for the watch alerting him. 

How does the fall detection feature work on an Apple Watch?

Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 4 and above come with a built-in fall detection feature. This health feature is available for free and users don’t have to pay extra to subscribe. However, you may still need to activate it on your iPhone. All you have to do is open the My Watch app on your iPhone and tap on Emergency SOS. Within this, you will find the option to toggle fall detection on or off.

If you trip or fall, the feature will buzz and check if you have been in an accident. It will further raise an alarm, and the person in question can click the digital crown to connect to alert emergency services.

If the Apple Watch notices the person moving, it will wait for a response. However, if the person seems immobile for more than a minute, it will put on a 30-second countdown while tapping them on the wrist and sounding an alarm. This alarm then gets progressively louder by the second until someone or the user taps cancel.

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After the countdown, it will automatically connect the user to medical authorities and share the person’s current location as latitude and longitude coordinates using Apple’s GPS location monitoring feature.

Once the call is complete, the Apple Watch will alert your emergency contacts and send your location details to them, provided you have set it up in advance. If you end up confirming the fall, all of your previous falls will be recorded within the Health app on your iPhone.

While a lot of health features may still require double-checking, fall detection certainly does help sound your loved ones in their time of need. It is, however, crucial to be well-versed with the Health app on your iPhone as well as Apple Watch to ensure you make the most of its health features.