‘Absolutely zero warning’: NC professor credits Apple Watch as lifesaver during heart attack

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Many people put an Apple Watch on their Christmas list each year, but for one college professor, the smartwatch is not only a gift; it’s why he’s still alive, according to our news partners at WLOS in Asheville.

Christopher Oakley, 61, is a former animator for Disney and DreamWorks who has lived in Asheville since 2007 and remembers August 20, 2021, very well.

“There was no warning,” Oakley told WLOS, “there was absolutely zero warning.”

It was the second week of the fall semester for Oakley, and he spent the morning cleaning up his yard before heading inside to clean the bathroom, WLOS reports.

“I remember standing here (in the bathroom) looking at this thing of Marilyn Monroe on the wall, and I remember looking at that and going, ‘Why am I feeling nauseous?’ and the next thing I know, I went down over here and hit this on the way down and was jammed into this little alcove,” he said.

WLOS says Oakley managed to pull himself up and make his way to the basement bedroom, but his heart was pounding heavily.

“It was as if I had just run a marathon,” he said.

Oakley told WLOS he sat for a few minutes before going up the stairs to his bedroom, where he says he either fell asleep or passed out.

“I don’t remember. I just remember waking up in the morning, and it was still racing,” he said.

The next morning, on Aug. 21, Oakley’s husband felt his chest and immediately rushed him to the emergency room, but by the time a doctor came to see him, his heart had calmed, WLOS reports.

“They’re looking at me like, ‘Why are you here?’ he said.

Just as the doctors were preparing to send Oakley back home, he remembered that his Apple Watch had recorded his heart rate, WLOS says.

“I went, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute; I have a watch that records my heart rate,’” Oakley said. “It showed that my heart had been racing at 121–151, or something like that, all night long. So, they took that information into account, which was lifesaving for me because two days later, two or three days later, I was having double bypass surgery. Emergency double bypass surgery.”

At the hospital, doctors classified Oakley’s recent episode as a minor heart attack, but Oakley refers to it as a warning shot, WLOS reports.

“Since then, I’ve been evangelizing to everybody who will listen and get one of these (an Apple Watch),” he said.

Now, two years later, Oakley decided it was time to express his gratitude to Apple CEO Tim Cook, WLOS reports.

“I just really appreciate all the work you and your folks have put into this to create a product that not only tells you the time but also saves your life,” Oakley sent in a note to Cook.

Cook wrote back to Oakley just three hours later, saying, ‘We’re just happy you’re doing well’.

“We used to collect watches and things, like Disney watches and things like that, but I haven’t worn one in years because this is my lifesaver,” Oakley said about his Apple Watch.

For more information on monitoring your heart rate on an Apple Watch, click here.

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