Key result
Pulmonary vein isolation is linked to ~490 more daily steps on consumer device monitoring.
Why the study?
Passively collected physical activity data from consumer devices could provide a scalable, objective measure of functional status in AF, prompting an assessment of the feasibility of remotely collecting activity and rhythm data after index PVI.
Does index pulmonary vein isolation improve daily physical activity (step count) and is remote activity and rhythm monitoring using consumer devices feasible in patients with atrial fibrillation?
Cohort (n=280)
Does index pulmonary vein isolation improve daily physical activity (step count) and is remote activity and rhythm monitoring using consumer devices feasible in patients with atrial fibrillation?
Remotely collecting multi-year physical activity and rhythm data from patient-owned consumer devices is feasible and demonstrates a significant increase in daily step count alongside a reduction in AF burden following index pulmonary vein isolation.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Smartwatch data transfer is feasible post-PVI; hypothesis-generating for wearable monitoring of AF burden and activity before prospective validation.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Passively collected physical activity data from consumer devices could provide a scalable, objective measure of functional status in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This study assessed the feasibility of remotely collecting activity and rhythm data from patients undergoing index pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). METHODS: AF patients enrolled in the prospective TRUST registry who underwent index PVI and reported owning an eligible smartphone were re-contacted to provide informed consent and share their smartphone- and smartwatch-generated data. Pre-specified feasibility criteria were participation rate, technical success, and temporal data coverage. The primary functional outcome was the mean daily step-count change between the one-year pre-PVI and two-year post-PVI windows. Exploratory analyses examined associations of daily activity with AF recurrence and AF burden. RESULTS: Of 280 eligible patients, 172 (61%) attempted and 154/172 (90%) completed data transfer, of whom 123 met pre-specified completeness criteria. Median monitoring duration was 6.0 [3.6, 6.6] years, with 98% [77, 100] coverage. Mean daily step count increased from 5731±2808 to 6220±2816 steps/day after PVI (+488 steps/day [187, 789]; p=0.002). In 35 smartwatch users, AF burden decreased from 3.6% [1.6, 10.8] to 0.0% [0.0, 0.3] after PVI (p<0.001). Baseline AF burden was inversely correlated with daily step count (ρ=-0.36, p=0.035). CONCLUSION: Remote collection of activity and rhythm data from consumer smartphones and smartwatches is feasible, yielding high-coverage, multi-year research data. This enables scalable, objective quantification of longitudinal functional outcomes. Daily step count increased after PVI in this exploratory cohort and was inversely related to baseline AF burden.
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Lachmann et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Atrial fibrillation (n=280). Index pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with remote consumer device monitoring vs. One-year pre-PVI baseline window was evaluated on Mean daily step-count change between the one-year pre-PVI and two-year post-PVI windows (alongside feasibility criteria of participation rate, technical success, and temporal data coverage) (MD +488 steps/day, 95% CI 187-789, p=0.002). Pulmonary vein isolation was associated with an increase in mean daily step count of +488 steps/day (95% CI 187-789; p=0.002) using consumer device monitoring.
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