Samsung Galaxy Watch AFib Alert Sends 39-Year-Old Father to Open-Heart Surgery

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 4

A 30-second ECG on Joseph Holycross’s Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic flagged atrial fibrillation, pushing the 39-year-old father of four to seek emergency care he says he otherwise would have skipped.
ER doctors confirmed the AFib, kept him hospitalized for about a week, and brought him back roughly 10 days later for open-heart surgery to repair multiple heart problems.
Jamie Holycross, a respiratory therapist, said doctors warned he might have suffered a stroke, heart attack or both without treatment, and one physician told the family he likely would not have lived to 45.
Hospital monitoring sometimes matched the watch within about 1 beat per minute, though Samsung says the ECG tool is only a screening aid and not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment.
Doctors also raised possible genetic concerns, recommending screening for Joseph’s siblings and future checks for his children, extending the scare beyond his own recovery.