Guide for Health Professionals on Using Smart Devices in Cardiovascular Care

The widespread use of commercial smart wearable devices and the advance of technological innovations are rapidly changing the ways we monitor our health. In the era of remote, decentralized, and increasingly personalized patient care, catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the cardiovascular community must familiarize itself with current and upcoming wearable technologies on the market and their wide range of clinical applications.

In this recently published guide for health professionals, researchers highlight the basic engineering principles of common wearable sensors, and where they can be error-prone. They also examine the role of these devices in the remote screening and diagnosis of common cardiovascular diseases, such as arrhythmias, and in the management of patients with established cardiovascular conditions like heart failure.

Device accuracy, clinical validity, the lack of standardized regulatory policies, and concerns over patient privacy continue to be today the major challenges hindering the widespread adoption of smart wearable technologies in clinical practice. As a conclusion, authors present several recommendations to navigate these challenges, and propose a simple and practical ‘ABCD’ guide for clinicians, personalized to their specific practice needs, to accelerate the integration of these devices into the clinical workflow for optimal patient care.

Reference:

Karim Bayoumy et al.Smart wearable devices in cardiovascular care: where we are and how to move forward.Nat Rev Cardiol. 2021 Mar 4 : 1–19. doi: 10.1038/s41569-021-00522-7 [Epub ahead of print]

Please note that the information provided in the Polar Blog articles cannot replace individual advice from health professionals. Please consult your physician before starting a new fitness program.