A man from Ohio almost lost his life after he suffered a stroke during a workout but his smart watch came through for him.

Last July, Derick Gant was in the middle of his daily jump rope routine when the unexpected happened.

‘I was having an amazing day,’ Gant said.

Gant then jumped for more than a minute without stopping.

‘I actually did it. I went about 1 minute and 15 seconds,’ he said.

But moments later, he collapsed. ‘I was lying there, not really knowing what was going on,’ he recalled. ‘I couldn’t really move my left leg or my left arm.’

His Apple Watch immediately detected the fall and displayed an alert, which he initially ignored.

‘It says, ”It looks like you’re in trouble. Do you need some help?” And I looked at it and I go, ”I’m going to be fine in a couple of minutes,'” he said.

But the symptoms didn’t improve and his left side was completely numb.

‘I tapped the watch and said, ‘Yes, I need some help,’ and the watch called all of my emergency contacts. It called 911,’ Gant said. 

Paramedics arrived within minutes. At the hospital, Gant learned he had suffered a stroke (a result of going off his blood thinners, which allowed a clot to travel to his brain).

‘I didn’t think it would happen to me, of course, but it was my fault,’ he admitted.

Gant is now fully recovered but he’s using his experience as a wake-up call for others.