Abstract 11437: False Atrial Fibrillation Alerts From Smartwatch in Relation to Perceived Physical Well-Being and Confidence in Management of Chronic Symptoms: The Pulsewatch Study

Abstract

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) can cause strokes that may be preventable with timely detection and anticoagulation therapy. Smartwatches offer the potential for non-invasive, long-term AF monitoring, but potential implications for psychological well-being associated with these alert systems remain to be studied. We examined the psychosocial impact of false alerts for AF on patients prescribed a smartwatch post stroke. Methods: We analyzed data from the Pulsewatch study (NCT03761394), which enrolled patients ≥50 years from the UMass Memorial Health system who had a history of stroke or transient ischemic attack, CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc ≥2, and no contraindications to anticoagulation. Data from participants in the intervention group, who received a cardiac patch monitor, as well as a smartwatch and smartphone installed with Pulsewatch applications, were analyzed. At baseline and 14 days, participants completed the Health Survey SF-12 to assess perceived physical well-being, and the Symptom Management survey to assess confidence in disease self-management. We employed logistic regression to assess changes in anxiety, perceived mental and physical health, and chronic disease management self-efficacy over 14 days with exposure to false alerts. Results: Among 85 participants who received a smartwatch for AF detection (mean age 64.8±9.2 years, 41% female, 86% non-Hispanic white) 11 (13%) received a false AF alert. Receipt of false alerts was associated with significant decreases in perceived physical well-being and management of chronic symptoms (β = -9.08, p < 0.01 and β = -6.50, p = 0.03, respectively), but not significantly associated with changes in perceived mental health (β = 0.70, p = 0.78). Conclusions: Perceived physical well-being and levels of disease self-management, but not perceived mental health, decreased with exposure to false AF alarms over 14 days. Further studies are required to explore the psychological impact of smartwatch AF monitoring in patients post stroke.