Reading Lesson 20:

Smartwatch Saves Life

When Heather Hendershot, 25, purchased her Apple Watch, she had no idea it would save her life later on.
Sometime in March, Hendershot was watching TV on the couch when suddenly her smartwatch started making a
beeping sound. It had detected her resting heart rate was too high, which was above 100 beats per minute. Heather
had never experienced any heart problems previously and she just gave birth to a baby four months earlier with no
complications at all. She thought that something wasn’t right with her smartwatch so she asked her husband Cody to
test it on himself and surprisingly, it gave him a normal reading. Hendershot ignored it at first, but the sound
continued over the next 24 hours and when her heart rate reading reached 140, Cody decided to take his wife to see
a doctor.
Hendershot went to the emergency room where doctors injected her with IV fluids and also conducted blood
tests. The doctors discovered that her thyroid gland produces excessive thyroid hormone, called hyperthyroidism. If
left untreated, she could develop a fatal condition known as thyroid storm which could make her heart rate, body
temperature and blood pressure become dangerously high. After a night spent in the hospital, the doctors allowed
her to go home as Hendershot’s heart rate and thyroid stabilised.
For the time being, Hendershot is on medication to control her heart rate and thyroid. She never ever thought
that her smartwatch could save her life.
(Adapted from www.today.com)

Practice 1: Based on the newspaper report transfer the information to the table below.

Practice 2: Match the words from the newspaper report above with the correct meanings.
Word Meaning
1. complications too much than normal
2. excessive deadly
3. fatal a medical substance
4. medication problems or difficulties