Harnessing the Potential of Wearable Activity Trackers for Heart Failure Self-Care

Muaddi Alharbi, Nicola Straiton, Robyn Gallagher

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of wearable activity trackers to promote self-care management for physical activity in heart failure (HF). Exercise participation decreases hospital admissions and improves quality of life in HF, and activity tracking devices provide more precise means to assess free-living physical activity and thus enable tailored exercise instruction. Use of activity trackers by cardiac patients for self-monitoring and motivational purposes is associated with increased levels of physical activity and is predictive of disease severity. However, more research is required to establish the feasibility and validity of these devices in HF patients. It is also critical that the devices can be easily used to collect, process and utilise relevant data. Activity trackers have the potential to promote HF self-care because they provide monitoring of physical activity behaviours and the potential to generate habit formation and goal reinforcement, all of which foster physical activity.