Baby saved after family Doberman detects racing heartbeat of 280 beats per minute

ENGLAND: A baby’s life was likely saved after his racing heartbeat was detected by the family dog — that wouldn’t stop crying. Kim Reynolds was confounded by her Doberman’s unusual “needy” behaviour around six-month-old Alexander.

Saraya wouldn’t leave the baby’s side and cried every time he was taken away from her that morning. The boy later became upset and looked unwell, so his mom drove him to the hospital, where doctors discovered Alexander was suffering with a dangerously-fast heart rhythm — at 280 beats per minute.

“Saraya knew his heart rate was higher than it should’ve been. She sensed it,” said the 41-year-old mom. “I had no idea.”“It was bugging me that Saraya was trying to tell me (that) something wasn’t right,” said the first-time-mom from Somerset, England.

When she went to the hospital emergency room, Kim feared they were wasting professionals’ time because the baby had stopped crying, but three doses of medication finally brought his heart rate down and the family was transferred by ambulance to another hospital.

After two days in the hospital, he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which isn’t dangerous if treated, but if left untreated can be deadly. Now 9-months-old, the baby takes the beta blocker propranolol orally three times a day.