Does the Apple Watch accurately measure heart rate and energy expenditure in patients with cardiovascular disease during exercise?
While the Apple Watch provides clinically acceptable heart rate accuracy during exercise in CVD patients, it systematically overestimates energy expenditure, warranting caution for its use in cardiac rehabilitation.
In patients with cardiovascular disease, the Apple Watch measures HR with clinically acceptable accuracy during exercise. If confirmed, it might be considered safe to incorporate the Apple Watch in HR-guided training programs in the setting of cardiac rehabilitation. At this moment, however, it is too early to recommend the Apple Watch for cardiac rehabilitation. Also, the Apple Watch systematically overestimates EE in this group of patients. Caution might therefore be warranted when using the Apple Watch for measuring EE.
Falter et al. (Sun,) studied this question.