Apple Watch saved the life of a Delaware woman who suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning in her home – and she was released from the hospital on New Year's Day
A Delaware woman is alive after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning thanks to the SOS function on her Apple Watch.
Natalie Nasatka was at home on the morning of December 29 when she started feeling dizzy and her vision became blurry – but a quick response likely saved her life.
She reached for the side button on her Apple Watch to contact emergency services just before she lost consciousness.
Nasatka activated the SOS function which initially presents an emergency call slider that the user can activate, but aAfter the countdown, the watch automatically called 911 and sent a text message with the person's location to each emergency contact in the phone.
Firefighters and emergency responders rushed to Nasatka's home in Smyrna, Delaware, where they found her unconscious in her bed.
They dragged her from her bed to the waiting ambulance and revived her with oxygen before taking her to a nearby hospital to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning – and on New Year's Day she was back home with her cat.
Natalie Nasatka used her Apple Watch to contact emergency services when she became dizzy and weak at her home in Smyrna, Delaware
“I started feeling weak and dizzy and my vision became blurry,” Nasatka said ABC6 News.
“I was too weak to find my phone, so I used my Apple Watch and held down the side button.”
Nasatka told CBS News that she regained consciousness when she heard firefighters rushing into the apartment.
The SOS feature immediately contacts 911 and sends your location to your emergency contacts
“When I heard the firefighters shouting 'fire brigade' and they dragged me out of bed, I just started crying and saying, 'I want to live. I want to live,” Nasatka told the newspaper.
Her cat, Mary Kate, was hiding in an upstairs room, so first responders opened a window for fresh air and closed the bedroom door.
Nasatka spent nearly 24 hours in the hospital before being released on New Year's Eve, and she told ABC6 she has been dealing with a rollercoaster of emotions since her collapse.
“Definitely waves of emotions knowing how close I could have been to death,” Nasatka told the newspaper.
'My first kiss on New Year's Eve was of course my cat. I picked her up, I've been saying this since I got home: Whatever our purpose here on earth is, it's not done yet,” she added.
Natalie Nasatka was treated for carbon monoxide poisoning at a nearby hospital for almost 24 hours
Nasatka told CBS she believed the gas leak came from the heater and said she did not have a CO2 detector at the time of the incident.
She said that “the carbon monoxide was confirmed because the fire department monitor read 80 parts per million in the apartment, which is extremely high.”
Nasatka could not be reached for comment and the Smyrna Fire Department did not immediately respond to Dailymail.com's request for additional information
Carbon monoxide poisoning kills at least 420 people in the US each year and more than 100,000 people are rushed to the emergency room due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
These numbers are highest in winter, when home heating systems run continuously and, if not properly maintained, can produce fumes released from furnaces, kerosene heaters, gas rangers, portable generators and more.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness, chest pain and confusion, but people who have drunk alcohol can die from CO2 poisoning before they ever experience symptoms.
The CDC recommends replacing the batteries in your carbon monoxide detector every six months, maintaining your heating system, water heater and other gas appliances annually and not running your vehicle in an enclosed area.