How a fitness tracker can save your life

It pays to take notice of your fitness device.

A woman in the US said her Fitbit literally saved her life after she noticed something was off with her heart rate.

Patricia Lauder, age 73, said she started suffering from fatigue and began experiencing shortness of breath after earlier battling a sinus infection.

Even walking a short distance would leave her exhausted.

The Independent reported it was the unusually high recording on Lauder’s Fitbit that made her realise something was wrong. Her normal resting heart rate of 68 to 70 beats per minute was increasing each day by five points and one day it climbed to 140.

Read more: Everything you need to know about this poplar activity tracker. 

After calling an ambulance, hospital tests showed she had blood clots in both lungs.

Left untreated, blood clots can prove deadly.

Dr. JuYong Lee, director of vascular and endovascular medicine at UConn Health Calhoun Cardiology Center said because of the clot, initially, the pressure in her right ventricle was very dilated and not functioning well

“I think the Fitbit actually helped her decide whether or not this was a serious condition at that time,” Lee said.

“This condition is very critical and she may have actually died if she had not sought medical attention.”

Do you wear a fitness tracker?