Wristwatch pulse wave monitoring: assessing daily activity post-catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) leads to impaired exercise capacity, and catheter ablation (CA) for AF improves exercise capacity. However, the precise changes in daily activities after CA for AF remain unclear. The authors aimed to evaluate the changes in daily activities following CA for AF using a wristwatch-type pulse wave monitor (PWM), which tracks steps and exercise time, estimates burnt daily calories, and records sleep duration, in addition to establishing the rhythm diagnosis of AF or non-AF.

Methods and results: One hundred and twenty-three patients with AF (97 paroxysmal, 26 persistent) wore a wristwatch-type PWM for 1 week duration at three time points: before, 1 month after, and 3 months after ablation. Daily activity data were compared. Steps did not change in both groups, and the number of burnt daily calories and total exercise time increased after CA in patients with paroxysmal AF (burnt daily calories: before, 1591 kcal/day; 1 month, 1688 kcal/day; and 3 months, 1624 kcal/day; P < 0.001 and exercise time: before, 45.8 min; 1 month, 51.2 min; and 3 months, 56.3 min; P = 0.023). Sleep hours significantly increased (paroxysmal AF: before, 6.8 h; 1 month, 7.1 h; and 3 months, 7.1 h; P = 0.039 and persistent AF: before, 6.0 h; 1 month, 7.0 h; and 3 months, 7.0 h; P = 0.007).

Conclusion: Using a wristwatch-type PWM, we demonstrated changes in daily activities after CA in patients with AF.

Trial registration number: jRCT1030210022.