Consumer Wearable Health and Fitness Technology in Cardiovascular Medicine: JACC State-of-the-Art Review
JACC State-of-the-Art Review
Central Illustration
Abstract
The use of consumer wearable devices (CWDs) to track health and fitness has rapidly expanded over recent years because of advances in technology. The general population now has the capability to continuously track vital signs, exercise output, and advanced health metrics. Although understanding of basic health metrics may be intuitive (eg, peak heart rate), more complex metrics are derived from proprietary algorithms, differ among device manufacturers, and may not historically be common in clinical practice (eg, peak O2, exercise recovery scores). With the massive expansion of data collected at an individual patient level, careful interpretation is imperative. In this review, we critically analyze common health metrics provided by CWDs, describe common pitfalls in CWD interpretation, provide recommendations for the interpretation of abnormal results, present the utility of CWDs in exercise prescription, examine health disparities and inequities in CWD use and development, and present future directions for research and development.
Highlights
• | CWDs have proliferated, but the heterogeneous health metrics they generate makes interpretation challenging. | ||||
• | To optimize their value for patient assessment and management, physicians should become familiar with the measurement techniques, accuracy, clinical relevance, and potential pitfalls inherent in these devices as they continue to evolve. | ||||
• | Along with technological development, clearer delineation of the indications for and appropriate use of monitoring technologies is needed to ensure safety and accurate application of the information provided by devices. |
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