Sunday's Saints-Vikings divisional round playoff game had one of the most thrilling finishes you'll ever see in a football game. In fact, it was so heart-pounding that some Apple Watch wearers were warned that their cardiac rate reached dangerous levels at the end of the game.
The game saw several lead changes in the final few minutes of the fourth quarter, but the climax came on the final play. After Case Keenum connected with Stefon Diggs for a miraculous 61-yard touchdown pass to give Minnesota the 29-24 win as time expired, several fans watching the game were alerted by their smart watches that they might be having a heart attack.
Those warnings from the watches, which have built-in heart monitors, came as a result of an irregular spike in heart rate during an "in-active" period.
My #AppleWatch keeping an eye out for me at the end of that #Vikings game. Two alerts. pic.twitter.com/r2ynJEtX9b
— Mike Van (@mikethefifth) January 15, 2018
My Apple Watch is witnessing the #Vikings affect my heart rate. #NOvsMIN #SKOL pic.twitter.com/9pZDTDnjRQ
— Mike Foster (@mjfoster83) January 15, 2018
If I was wearing an Apple Watch tonight, you’d be planning my funeral. Certainly flat lined and spiked. #vikings #skol #SkolVikings #skolchant pic.twitter.com/u3dVpJbnOE
— TC Huddle (@TCHuddle) January 15, 2018
We'll have to assume (and hope) that none of those fans actually suffered heart attacks, but rather just had some trouble allowing their body to process what they were witnessing on the field. That's certainly understandable, as the game was an instant classic that will be talked about for years to come.
Between football and ballistic missiles, it sure was an action-packed weekend for ill-advised alerts.
