Apple watch credited for saving teen's life

'I was so dehydrated that my muscles started to actually break down'

A Cape Cod, Massachusetts high school senior almost ran out of luck when he felt ill after a football practice last week. He experienced back and chest pains long after football practices ended and his heart rate seemed irregular. It was then the teen checked his pulse using his newly purchased Apple watch. The alarming heart rate displayed on the watch's face prompted the teen to visit the hospital, where it was discovered he had a dangerous condition. 

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Catholic Online) - Some people say it's nothing more than another expensive gadget but for 17-year-old Paul Houle his Apple watch was a life-saver.

According to The Blaze, Paul Houle -teenage football player and senior at Tabor Academy- felt bad after practice last week and he suffered back and chest pain. He felt the need to check his pulse, which he did with his new gadget.

"My Apple watch, which I bought three days earlier, I tested my heart rate on it. It was about 145 for about 2 hours after the practice had ended," Houle told WBZ-TV.

A normal resting heart rate is anywhere from 60 to one-hundred beats-per-minute so Houle immediately called his trainer who took him to the hospital. There he was told he was suffering from rhabdomyolysis, a condition where his muscle tissues broke down and released muscle fiber contents into his blood. Houle admitted his diagnosis was probably due to dehydration.

"I was so dehydrated that my muscles started to actually break down and release a protein that is sort of toxic into my blood stream which caused my heart, my liver and my kidneys all to shut down," he said.

He credited his survival to his Apple watch, saying, "If my Apple Watch hadn't shown me it was 145, I would have done nothing about it."

Houle will be benched for part of the football season at his school so he can recover, but he was happy to have been saved and for a call from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who offered him an internship next summer.

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