There have been many questions raised about fitness-tracking technology and privacy rights. But some of that technology appeared to work out quite well recently for San Antonio Spurs’ broadcaster Sean Elliott, who had a scary heart moment recently.
But in that moment, Elliott’s Apple Watch helped him out. And that led to his wife, Claudia Zapata-Elliott (also known for her work as a nutritionist and cook), posting about the warning and the cardioversion procedure Elliott got in response on Instagram:
View this post on Instagram
As Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News noted, this is not the first time there’s been a significant medical issue for Elliott (who just completed his 23rd season as lead analyst for the Spurs’ TV coverage, which is currently on Bally Sports Southwest and local CBS and CW affiliates owned by Tegna and Deerfield respectively). Indeed, he had one particularly notable health issue during his playing career:
After going through testing in 1993, doctors diagnosed [Elliott] with focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, a type of kidney disease that causes scarring on the kidneys and inhibits their ability to filter excess fluids, waste and toxins from the blood.
Despite the diagnosis, Elliott played for several more seasons and gained fame for his “Memorial Day Miracle” 3-pointer that won Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against Portland during the 1999 playoffs.
Less than a month after the Spurs won the title, Elliott and his doctors announced his condition had worsened and that he would need a kidney transplant as soon as a matching donor could be found. In August 1999, he underwent successful surgery to receive a kidney from his older brother Noel.
“I tell everybody my brother is the poster child for organ donation,” Elliott told the San Antonio Express-News in 2023. “I have heard so many stories about family and friends who matched as a donor but were afraid or reluctant to donate a kidney, saying, ‘What is going to happen to me? And that is a valid concern.
“But after donating, my brother has had three kids, is healthy, obviously alive and doing well. You would never know he has one kidney.”
It’s good to hear that Elliott got important care here in advance of any more serious issue. And it sounds like his Apple Watch was quite useful for him here. He’s set to start his 24th season as the Spurs’ lead TV analyst (alongside lead play-by-play voice Bill Land, who’s entering his 22nd season in that role) this fall. And it sounds like he’ll be good to go for that.
[San Antonio Express-News, image from Claudia Zapata-Elliott on Instagram]
