San Antonio Spur Sean Elliott recovering after Apple Watch detects heart issue

Medical pros at Methodist Healthcare were able to shock the NBA champ's heart back into rhythm.

click to enlarge Sean Elliott smiles from his hospital bed after being treated by Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio. - Instagram / cookwithclaudia
Instagram / cookwithclaudia
Sean Elliott smiles from his hospital bed after being treated by Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio.
Spurs legend Sean Elliott can thank his Apple Watch for beeping him down the road to recovery.

Over the weekend, the 56-year-old sports commentator and NBA champ had a medical screening for atrial fibrillation after receiving alerts from his Apple Watch, Sports Illustrated reports.

"Sean wasn’t experiencing any symptoms, but for the last couple of weeks, his Apple Watch had been warning him he was in atrial fibrillation — also known A-Fib," the former Spur's wife, Claudia Zapata-Elliott, said in an Instagram post. "It’s when the heart beats irregularly and chaotically and untreated, can lead to a stroke."
Following up on the alerts, the cardiology team at Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio treated Elliott, according to Instagram post. After tests and imaging, medical pros at the hospital shocked the Memorial Day Miracle shot maker's heart back into rhythm using a procedure called cardioversion.

"One of us was very nervous but knew we were in the best of hands,"  Zapata-Elliott wrote.

Elliott has a history of medical issues and required a kidney transplant after being diagnosed with segmental glomerulosclerosis shortly after winning his sole NBA championship as a Spur, Sports Illustrated reports.

The
A-Fib appears to be unrelated to Elliott's earlier kidney issue, according to the magazine.

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Sanford Nowlin

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current.

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