Narrative review of advances in smart wearables for noncoronary vascular disease

Objective

Existing medical care for peripheral arterial disease, aortic aneurysms, and other forms of noncoronary vascular disease fails to integrate mobility, pain levels, and other real-time patient-generated health data, instead relying on formal hospital- or clinic-based evaluations. Wearable technology, such as smartwatches, is increasingly common and offers an opportunity to improve care by allowing the collection and use of these types of data.

Methods

We searched English language publications in MEDLINE and reviewed some of our work to perform this narrative review of wearable technology for noncoronary vascular disease.

Results

A wide range of patient-generated data may be collected using wearable technology using a spectrum of devices and platforms. There is very limited but growing work using wearable technology focused on noncoronary vascular disease. Preoperative mobility monitoring, reduction of postdischarge readmission after lower limb revascularization, and improvement of medication compliance are important examples of potential applications. We also identified several barriers to widespread use and acceptance of wearables such as patient acceptance, medical team burden, and data useability.

Conclusions

Wearable devices, such as smartwatches, offer the potential to fundamentally alter the management of noncoronary vascular disease by collecting real-time patient-generated data. There are several promising applications such as perioperative monitoring and medication compliance. Additional work on regulatory issues, cost-effectiveness, workflow integration, and acceptance by patients and clinicians will need to be completed before widespread use of wearables.