Fitbit Saves Life Of Princeton Area Native

SKILLMAN, NJ — Barry Bickel, 54, of Skillman is a husband and father of three daughters. He considers himself to be in very good shape.

But it wasn’t until he got a Fitbit this past summer that he noticed a change in his heart rate. Having the watch, that detects his health stats everyday, would end up saving his life.

It was sometime in late June, early July that Bickel’s company offered him a discount on Fitbit watches as part of their health care plan. He purchased the Fitbit Charge 2 and wore it “religiously.”

In the middle to the end of August, Bickel started to notice on his Fitbit that his heart rate was gradually declining. It was at about an average of 68 or 70 and then went down to 62.

“I didn’t think much of it and then a few days later it was in the 50s,” Bickel said. “I thought it was really odd but felt OK.”

He went on a business trip to Boston when he started to feel tired, foggy and overall not great. During one of his meetings, he noticed his heart rate now said 48 and when he went to bed it was in the high 30s.

(Barry's heart rate stats from his Fitbit Charge 2 watch)

When he returned from his trip he made an appointment with his doctor in Princeton who didn’t know what was going on. The doctor conducted an Electrocardiography(EKG) which found he was had third degree heart block. This essentially meant that the signals that fire the heart aren’t connecting correctly.

“It found that my heart only had one beat every 5 or 6 seconds and it was pausing,” Bickel said.

He then went to see a cardiologist, Dr. Casey Wong with the Princeton Medical Group, who was shocked by Bickel’s situation. Usually this condition only happens to people in their 80's or 90's. Some more tests were done.

Dr. Wong then called Bickel to tell him he had a rare form Lyme Disease called Lyme Carditis that went directly to his heart. Only one percent of people have contracted this, according to the Centers for Disease Controls (CDC).

Bickel was told to go to the hospital immediately as he could faint, go into cardiac arrest or worse.

When he was admitted to the hospital he was given antibiotics through IV for two days then given antibiotics to take at home for 30 days. He will always have Lyme Disease but is feeling great now.

“My cardiologist said, ‘This is a very rare thing. Fitbit saved your life,’” Bickel said. “It’s amazing, I told a lot of people the story and a lot of doctors told me I have to call Fitbit and tell them my story.”

Since this experience, one of Bickel’s daughters and his wife want to get their own Fitbit.

“It’s just one of those things, what could’ve happened if I hadn’t noticed my heart rate was so low, could’ve been really bad,” Bickel said. “It was a stroke of luck.”

(Images via Barry Bickel: Bickel and his family, along with an image of his Fitbit heart rate stats.)

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