TUESDAY, Aug. 13, 2024 (HealthDay News) — In patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), wearable devices are associated with higher AF-specific health care and informal health resource utilization, according to a study published in the Aug. 6 issue of Journal of the American Heart Association.
Dr. Lindsey Rosman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues conducted a retrospective, propensity-matched study of patients with atrial fibrillation to compare the use of atrial fibrillation-specific health services and informal health service use between wearable users and non-users over a nine-month period. Data were included for 172 patients with atrial fibrillation, 83 of whom used a wearable.
The researchers found that wearable users were more likely to monitor and engage with symptoms than non-users and expressed more concerns about AF treatment. Overall, 20 percent of wearable users experienced anxiety and always contacted their doctor in response to reports of irregular heart rhythm. After matching, wearable users were found to have significantly higher utilization of AF-specific health services than non-users, including significantly higher numbers of electrocardiograms, echocardiograms/transesophageal echocardiograms, and ablations. Wearable users were also significantly more likely to use informal health services than non-users.
“These findings underscore the need for further research into the potential impact of wearable devices on healthcare utilization and patient psychological well-being, as well as the resulting impacts on providers, clinical processes, and healthcare spending,” the authors write.
Several authors revealed connections to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
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