# Way to ensure a message gets to family if stop interacting **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297 "2025-03-08T15:21:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/21 "2025-03-08T18:55:12Z")
I remember a [story](https://www.jalopnik.com/iphone-14-crash-sensor-motorcycle-accident-false-alarm-1849574562/) of someone whose iPhone fell off his motorcycle, was damaged to the point of being unusable but also triggered the crash detection feature. His family was alerted and because the phone wasn’t usable, he wasn’t able to contact them until he got a replacement phone. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/22 "2025-03-08T20:55:16Z")
I don’t know a lot about pacemakers, but I’m surprised that there wasn’t some alert somewhere when Mr. Hackman’s stopped, since it was being monitored at least enough they know what day that happened. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/23 "2025-03-08T20:58:38Z")
> [@MacDoc](#): > > I’m quite happy having an Apple Watch on now. I’m 77 and still riding mcycle and the watch will pick up any crash or fall ( had one of those when day out of hosp ). Will the watch also send out an alert if there’s no heartbeat? If someone were to die in their sleep, would the watch realize something was wrong even though there wasn’t a fall? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/24 "2025-03-08T21:09:00Z")
There are undoubtedly different kinds of pacemakers, but the one my father-in-law had did store event information internally, but it had to be read by a nearby scanner in his doctor’s office. It had no ability to upload data via the internet or anything like that. I would expect that the information about when Hackman died was extracted from his pacemaker after the body was recovered. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/25 "2025-03-08T21:10:13Z")
And we’ve just demonstrated my lack of info about pacemakers :). I was completely unaware of the internal information storage. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/26 "2025-03-08T21:16:14Z")
An early episode of the Showtime drama _[Homeland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_(TV_series))_ had a character die when a bad actor remotely hacked his pacemaker. That _may_ be the reason that some pacemakers limit internet access. ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/27 "2025-03-08T21:17:36Z")
Short answer is no. The watch will not detect a heart attack or loss of a pulse. In fact when I get my ECG or my heart rate on the watch it specifically warns it will not detect a heart attack. ---
**Author:** ![a6ka97](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@a6ka97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a6ka97)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/28 "2025-03-08T21:46:00Z")
The local care center (or maybe the elderly assistance agency) has a program seniors can sign up for. You pick a time, usually in the morning, for the automated call system to call and the senior citizen would answer and press “5” or whatever number to acknowledge that the call was received. If the call is not answered then the system flags the number for further investigation. This program is probably also available to disabled individuals also. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/29 "2025-03-08T21:58:16Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > But I can see how, in some parts of the US, an unanticipated visit by that response team might endanger them. I read about instances here in Germany of firefighters (the people called for opening doors with extreme prejudice) occasionally breaking down apartment doors of seniors who were forgetful _and hard of hearing_. Might be dangerous if said seniors are armed. My parents’ neighbor, who died at home alone, had invited the local police to his house and he showed them how to enter without needing to break down the door. There are also residential Knox boxes that are available. You hang it outside the house with a house key inside and local first responders have a master key. Knox boxes are what first responders use to access commercial buildings. ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/30 "2025-03-08T21:59:04Z")
They didn’t know for 3 years that a person was dead on the floor, but knew right away when his money died. That’s a different kind of story. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/31 "2025-03-08T22:01:28Z")
That’s why I don’t autopay anything. ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/32 "2025-03-08T22:04:31Z")
I’m a dead on the floor for awhile kind of guy. Not 3 years. Now I’m seeing a dark comedy, like it would be a badge of honor (wealth) if you could be dead on a floor for 10 years or more. ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/33 "2025-03-08T22:10:18Z")
What if she died during the day while the screen was open? Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/34 "2025-03-08T22:13:33Z")
Presumably the neighbor would notice that the screen was not lowered in the evening. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/35 "2025-03-08T22:38:49Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There are also residential Knox boxes that are available. You hang it outside the house with a house key inside and local first responders have a master key. Knox boxes are what first responders use to access commercial buildings. I have Bay Medical alert service so I can call for help if I need it. It came with a lockbox that hangs on my doorknob and has a 4-digit code that opens it. Bay Medical has the code so they can give it to the EMTs that are sent by them. I also once gave the code to a neighbor so she could check on my cat when I was hospitalized. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/36 "2025-03-08T23:50:26Z")
I recall some story in the news maybe 30 years ago, where some British lord or something disappeared without a trace. A few years later they happened to look in a little-used study in the massive old mansion, and found him dead in his easy chair, presumably a heart attack. The scary thought was that his wife(?) had been living in the mansion all this time, just had no clue he would use that room. (I think they said it was locked) However, if I search, all I find is references to Lord Lucan. … or Richard Maedge in Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/37 "2025-03-09T00:20:45Z")
Aha! Yes, I wasn’t thinking it through 😉 ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/38 "2025-03-10T15:18:10Z")
I know that sounds awful - but if a person doesn’t go to work or interact regularly with actual friends or family, who’s going to know? I live in a single family house and sometimes go months without seeing a particular neighbor so it wouldn’t seem strange to me. Maybe at some point, I might assume the neighbor had moved. Even if I’m a regular at a store or restaurant, I’m probably not going to tell the cashier at the supermarket that I’m moving next week, so it wouldn’t seem odd that I stopped coming in. A few years ago, a body was discovered in a house down the block from my sister. The 85 or so year old woman had been dead for 5 or 6 months, and at first, the story was that the grandson who lived with her hadn’t reported her death for fear he would be left homeless( turned out he killed her). The body was discovered because her daughter called the police when she hadn’t been able to reach her mother in months. The only part of this that sounds strange to me is that the daughter waited months to call the police for a wellness check. I can’t imagine a way for that to happen - it seems to me that if the daughter was accustomed to speaking to her mother once every week or two or even monthly , she would have called the police sooner than 5 months, while I probably wouldn’t get worried about a relative I rarely spoke to at all. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/39 "2025-03-10T15:34:45Z")
If you like to read the actual paper, get a subscription. When they start piling up, someone will notice. But it would take several days for enough papers to stack up before people notice. It wouldn’t be a good way to to get help for something urgent. But if you had passed away, someone would likely check after a week or so of papers sitting on the driveway. Perhaps a service the post office could offer would be to do wellness checks if mail starts to pile up. I suppose you could even do this informally. Tape a note to the inside of your mailbox that says something like “Hello, postal person. I live alone and am in poor health. If mail starts piling up, please text me at 555-5555. If I don’t answer, please call for help.” I would guess that most of the mail delivery people would not mind helping out with something like that. Especially if you remember them with a nice tip during the holidays. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297/40 "2025-03-10T15:55:59Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I know that sounds awful - but if a person doesn’t go to work or interact regularly with actual friends or family, who’s going to know? I think the best thing is to connect with other people. Family, friends, neighbors, whatever. But always connect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-ensure-a-message-gets-to-family-if-stop-interacting/1015297.md?page=3)