Tech and sports manager Peter Moore is healthy and happy thanks to his Apple Watch.
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Veteran tech executive Peter Moore credits his Apple Watch with an alarm that ultimately saved his life and led to the implantation of a pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat.
Peter Moore is a long-time CEO and advisor in the technology and sports sectors and has long been a major player in Silicon Valley. His roles have included running Sega, Microsoft’s Xbox division, Electronic Arts’ sports division, and CEO of his hometown Liverpool football team. He is currently SVP and GM of Unity Technologies’ sports and live entertainment division.
Recently, Moore was on his way to the airport to pick up his daughter when he felt “a little lightheaded and a little weak,” he saidKTLA Reporter Rich DeMuro. “Like a typical man, I thought, ‘I’ll go to Starbucks. That will solve the problem.'”
His Apple Watch began beeping with “low heart rate” alerts. Moore took an EKG with the watch, which told him his heart rate had dropped to 32 beats per minute. A more typical reading during inactivity would be between 50 and 60 beats per minute.
He stopped and called his wife, who told him to stay there. She picked him up and took him to a nearby hospital.
Once there, Moore said, “the doctor came running in theatrically and said, ‘This is not good. This is not good. You need a pacemaker immediately.'” Moore underwent immediate surgery to have a pacemaker inserted and now reports that he “feels great.”
Pay attention to health wearables warnings
Omid Yousefian, the cardiac electrophysiologist at Sansum Clinic Cardiology who treated Moore, said his Apple Watch “played a huge role in saving his life.” While the Apple Watch can’t detect a heart attack, it can alert the user to unusual changes in heart rate and rhythm, known as atrial fibrillation.
Moore “was alerted by his watch that his heart rate was slow, and he correlated that with the symptoms he was having,” Yousefian said. “He didn’t wait. He didn’t sit still. He came straight to the hospital. So he made a very smart move.”
The Apple Watch has been praised countless times by users who said the alerts it provided often alerted them to hidden health issues they were unaware of. Basketball legend Sean Elliott recently credited the device for requiring him to see a cardiologist, who was able to fix a heart rhythm issue Elliott was having that could have led to more serious damage over time.
“I wouldn’t be here without this little device,” Moore said. He praised the Apple Watch and other wearables for their added value, particularly for “literally informing you in real time about your health. And in my case, I think they’re saving my life.”
