Bangladeshi pilgrim's life saved by a smartwatch and a phone app

A Saudi cardiology team at SEHA virtual hospital SVH successfully enabled a 55-year-old pilgrim from Bangladesh to perform the Hajj rituals, despite suffering a severe heart stroke.

The pilgrim was suffering from severe pain in the chest area on June 20th and was transferred to King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah. After conducting necessary medical tests, it was found that he had a case of acute coronary artery thrombosis, and weakness in the heart muscle, which necessitated catheterization and the installation of 3 heart stents.

Within 24 hours of recovery, he was transferred to SVH 800km away in the capital Riyadh, where his health condition was followed up remotely by a senior cardiologist.

Saudi Health indicated that the pilgrim was provided with devices that allow monitoring his condition remotely 24 hours a day by doctors on duty in Riyadh, and these devices consist of a smartwatch to measure heart rate, a blood pressure meter, a heart rate meter to verify the correctness of the smartwatch readings and an application installed on his mobile phone.

The ministry reported that 4 hours after the Pilgrim was discharged from King Abdullah Medical City, doctors at SVH noticed a sharp increase in his heartbeat, and the patient was contacted via his local Hajj group doctor, then an ambulance was contacted to transfer him back to King Abdullah Medical City to adjust the therapeutic doses and confirm his overall condition, and after necessary checkups, the patient left the hospital in a stable condition, enabling him to complete his Hajj rituals.