Ryan Gabb borrowed a friend’s Fitbit....and the fitness monitor told him he needed a new heart.
The 30-year-old discovered his heart was racing at over 100 beats per minute.
His GP sent him straight to hospital where he was told he had Dilated Cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscle) and he would likely need a heart transplant.
Ryan explained: “I had been feeling unwell for a few weeks, just general tiredness and flu-type symptoms that I couldn’t shake off.
“It was getting worse and I was starting to become breathless too.”
Ryan, of Wrexham, North Wales, who has been on the transplant list for four years, had to give up his job in a factory.
Now fitted with a heart pump known as an LVAD, Ryan said: “I am doing pretty well at the moment with the LVAD but waiting for a transplant can be hard.
“I hope more people will discuss organ donation with their families and register their decision.”
Anthony Clarkson of NHS Blood and Transplant said: “Thousands across the UK are waiting for the call that a donor has been found to save or transform their life.”
