Fitbits: a constant reminder that we are not exercising enough... but this woman has hers to thank for saving her life.
Felicity McQueen from Western Australia got her Fitbit watch as a birthday present from her husband Darcy last October.
However, after only wearing it for a short time, she noticed that it kept telling her that her resting heart rate was 150 bpm; it should be around 60 - 100 bpm.
Feeling dizzy and weak, Felicity decided to put the gym on hold for a bit, but, despite not exercising, her heart rate was still going crazy.
So she decided to pay her GP a visit, who referred her to a cardiologist.
The mum was told to wear a 24-hour Holtor monitoring test (a portable ECG), which discovered she has an atrial fibrillation - an abnormal heart rhythm that prevents the heart pumping blood around the body.
If left untreated it can cause a blood clot and subsequently a stroke.
“I’ve never really felt right, with unexplained fatigue and fainting spells, but no one ever joined the dots and ordered tests, so I just lived with it,” she told The West Australian.
“It took a mid-range fitness tracker to finally help work out what was wrong with me.”
Unfortunately, Felicity suffered complications following surgery and had to be admitted to intensive care - before discovering that her health insurance wouldn't cover the costs, resulting in a $13,000 bill.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help cover the costs: https://www.gofundme.com/fitbit-discovers-heart-condition
