Wearable devices can predict the outcome of standardized 6-minute walk tests in heart disease.

Schubert, Charlotte; Archer, Gareth; Zelis, Jo M; Nordmeyer, Sarah; Runte, Kilian; Hennemuth, Anja; Berger, Felix; Falk, Volkmar et al. · NPJ Digit Med · 2020

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Abstract

Wrist-worn devices with heart rate monitoring have become increasingly popular. Although current guidelines advise to consider clinical symptoms and exercise tolerance during decision-making in heart disease, it remains unknown to which extent wearables can help to determine such functional capacity measures. In clinical settings, the 6-minute walk test has become a standardized diagnostic and prognostic marker. We aimed to explore, whether 6-minute walk distances can be predicted by wrist-worn devices in patients with different stages of mitral and aortic valve disease. A total of <i>n</i> = 107 sensor datasets with 1,019,748 min of recordings were analysed. Based on heart rate recordings and literature information, activity levels were determined and compared to results from a 6-minute walk test. The percentage of time spent in moderate activity was a predictor for the achievement of gender, age and body mass index-specific 6-minute walk distances (<i>p</i> < 0.001; <i>R</i> <sup>2</sup> = 0.48). The uncertainty of these predictions is demonstrated.