Featured Image Credit: WPVI/UCG/Getty Images
It's January, which means many of us are cracking on with resolutions to be healthier - and we might use a smartwatch to track our progress.
Yes, devices like an Apple Watch can help you up your step count and track your sleep - but did you also know it could potentially save your life as well?
That's exactly what happened to Natalie Nasatka, a student from Delaware.
She fell foul of carbon monoxide poisoning in her apartment on December 29, telling CBS News Philadelphia she experienced blurred vision, exhaustion and eventually lost consciousness.
Advert
But before she passed out, she had the smarts to hit the SOS button on her Apple Watch, which called 911.
It was a lifesaver, because Nasatka told ABC6 she was too weak to find her phone and call emergency services from there.
"When I heard the firefighters yell out 'fire department' and they yanked me out of bed, I just started crying and saying 'I want to live. I want to live'," Nasatka told CBS.
She said she was lucky that help arrived quickly - an ambulance came and administered her oxygen.
"The carbon monoxide was confirmed because the fire department monitor read 80 parts per million in the apartment, which is extremely high," Nasatka added.
Carbon monoxide has no smell, color or taste, and can be potentially deadly. Nasatka didn't have a carbon monoxide detector in her house, which is why she wasn't aware of the gas leak.
According to Apple, the Emergency SOS setting lets you 'quickly and easily call for help and alert your emergency contacts from your Apple Watch'.
When you make an SOS call, local emergency services are immediately called and your device shares your location with them.
After that, your Watch also sends 'your emergency contacts a text message with your current location, unless you choose to cancel'.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 420 people die in the US from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning every year, with 100,000 people visiting the emergency department because of it.
The CDC recommends installing a carbon monoxide detector in your home to protect yourself, making sure you check or change its batteries every six months.
