Dad Credits Wearable Monitor With Alerting Him To His Baby's Heart Issue

The device alerted parents to their infant son’s abnormal heart rate

After a terrifying night where his son’s heart rate was far above normal, a dad is speaking out about the device he credits with saving his child from more serious health complications.

First-time parents Ryan Golinski and Kate Crawford decided to buy a $300 Owlet Smart Sock, a wearable monitor that measures a baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels while they sleep. The sock is put on the infant’s foot and the device inside transmits information to a smartphone app in order to alert parents to any irregularities.

According to Golinski, the monitor picked up an abnormal heart rhythm in his four-week-old son Bryce this past Sunday night.

Golinski writes, “The sock started alarming us something was wrong, which we thought was a false alarm because it said his heart rate was reading 286. But three resets later and it was still reading extremely high for an infant.”

Those high readings were what got Golinski and his partner to take little Bryce to the hospital — a decision that potentially saved their son from suffering complications caused by his high heart rate.

“We have spent the last 24+ hours At the hospital for something called SVT, and we caught it before any side effects. So everything is going well now and his heart is still extremely healthy, if we didn’t catch it as early as we did with that sock, his heart wouldn’t have been able to handle it and we could be dealing with something a lot more serious,” he says.

The condition he describes, SVT, or supraventricular tachycardia, is an arrhythmia diagnosed in children that isn’t usually fatal, but catching it in time to take action is key to halting any long-lasting side effects, according to KidsHealth. The fast heart rate can cause difficulty with the pumping action of the heart, which can be serious if left untreated.

“SVT can be fatal if not caught in time,” New York City pediatrician Dr. Allison Ostrow tells Us. “Hopefully this baby’s condition can be controlled with medication. He might outgrow it or it may be an indication that something more serious is going on.”

Of the decision to buy the device, Golinski tells Us, “I’m a worrier, so I began to look into products for when the baby is sleeping. I can’t be standing over him 24 hours a day making sure he is breathing.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics does warn that devices like the Owlet shouldn’t be used as a means to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Their recommendations to keep babies safe include: safe sleep habits, such as putting baby to sleep on his back and removing soft bedding, a firm sleep surface, and having baby sleep in the same room as his parents in his own safe sleeping space. While devices like the Owlet can provide parents with a little peace of mind, they shouldn’t be expected to prevent serious health problems.

As for Golinski, he thinks parents should add the Owlet to their registry. “I highly recommend new parents invest into this sock, it’s well worth the money.”