Survey: Most Americans use devices to monitor their hearts, but few share that data with their doctors. allen county

Columbus, Ohio – Advances in technology have made it increasingly easy for people to self-monitor their heart health, whether through smart devices on their wrists or fingers, or blood pressure monitors. However, a new national survey commissioned The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center It turns out that many Americans use devices to monitor their hearts, but few share that data with their doctors.

A survey of 1,008 Americans found that nearly two-thirds regularly use a device to monitor their heart health. The most popular are smart watches (32%), portable blood pressure machines (31%), fitness apps (19%), and wearable fitness/movement trackers (13%). For those who use the device, that data will be used to prompt conversations about heart health with their doctors.

“These self-monitoring devices can be very helpful for patients and their healthcare providers. For example, if a patient is monitoring their blood pressure at home and notices that it is rising over time; They may want to discuss it with their doctor sooner rather than waiting for their annual visit. Or, like atrial fibrillation, they may have an irregular heart on their device much sooner than it would be diagnosed at the doctor's office. You might catch the rhythm.” Laxmi Mehta, MDthe Sarah Ross Soter Endowed Chair in Preventive Cardiology and Women's Cardiovascular Health and Women's Cardiovascular Health Research at Westner Medical Center in Ohio.

Mehta said patients are increasingly asking about the pros and cons of self-monitoring health devices. One of those patients was Sue Van Washenhove, 78, of Upper Arlington, whose children got her a smartwatch to track her health after she fell several times. Vanwassenhove has sleep apnea, which affects her heart rate and breathing, noting what the device is capturing. When her smartwatch showed a pattern of slowing her heart rate, she set up an appointment with Meta.

“A normal heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute without exercise. Heart rate can vary due to a variety of heart conditions and non-cardiac reasons, such as infection, dehydration, anxiety, and thyroid disorders. “It's best for them to talk to their doctor when their heart rate or rhythm seems different than normal,” Mehta said.

When it comes to exercise, maximum heart rate can be calculated by subtracting a person's age from 220. For moderate intensity exercise, the goal is to hit 50-75% of that number, and for vigorous exercise 70-85%. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderately vigorous aerobic exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week to maintain a healthy heart.

During her appointment with Mehta, Vanwassenhove learned that her smartwatch could perform an EKG, which records the heart's electrical signals, and was able to send the results to Mehta through her electronic medical chart.

“Having a smartwatch is very empowering because it's not passive in my healthcare. I have some heart issues that need to be monitored and any health issues that show up on my watch. It's important for me to talk to my cardiologist and primary care doctor about it,” Van Wassenhove said.

Research method

This study was conducted by SSRS on the opinion panel Omnibus platform. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, twice-monthly probability-based survey. Data collection was conducted from December 16 to December 18, 2024 among a sample of 1,008 respondents. The survey was conducted via the web (n = 978) and telephone (n = 30) and was administered in English. The total margin of error for respondents is +/- 3.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus data is weighted to represent the target population of U.S. adults ages 18 and older.

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