Lucas Russo begged his parents for a smartwatch, and they finally gave in. Shortly after he received one for his 12th birthday in February, the device’s alarm alerted him that his heart rate was abnormally high, up to 200 beats per minute.

Lucas was referred to Reina Tan, MD, a pediatric electrophysiologist at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics.  A series of electrocardiograms (EKGs), heart monitors, and echocardiograms revealed that Lucas had ectopic atrial tachycardia, a type of arrhythmia that results in an increased heart rate. “If this was left undetected, over time the muscles would get weaker and eventually fail. He would have come in because of heart failure at that point,” says Dr. Tan.

Dr. Tan performed a small ablation to begin to correct Lucas’s heart condition and then prescribed him medications. Lucas is now getting ready to return to normal physical activity, including his favorite sport, football.

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