WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES IN CARDIOVASCULAR RISK MONITORING: A LITERATURE REVIEW OF CLINICAL EVIDENCE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.2(50).2026.5760Keywords:
Wearable Technology; Atrial Fibrillation; Stroke; Blood Pressure; Heart Failure; Smartwatch; ECG PatchAbstract
Background: Wearable technologies - including consumer smartwatches, adhesive ECG patches and photoplethysmography-based sensors - have emerged as validated tools for continuous cardiovascular risk monitoring outside clinical settings.
Objective: This review synthesizes peer-reviewed clinical evidence from 2020 to 2025 on the diagnostic performance and utility of wearable devices in detecting atrial fibrillation (AF), ischemic stroke risk, arterial hypertension and heart failure (HF).
Methods: A structured PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Cochrane Library search was performed using Boolean MeSH combinations for wearable devices, arrhythmia, stroke, hypertension and heart failure, restricted to English-language RCTs, cohort studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses from January 2020 to April 2025.
Results: Pooled meta-analysis demonstrates Apple Watch AF sensitivity of 96.4% and specificity of 97.2% (Iqbal et al., 2025). The iRhythm Zio XT Patch achieves 2.58-fold greater AF detection than standard monitoring and anticoagulation initiation 15.3 percentage points higher in monitored patients (mSToPS). Post-stroke AF detection was 2.73-fold higher with patch monitoring than Holter (EPCAS trial). Cuffless BP wearables achieve acceptable daytime accuracy (mean SBP error -0.99 mmHg vs. ABPM) but subthreshold nighttime performance (4.48 mmHg). The LINK-HF study predicted HF hospitalization with 87% sensitivity up to six days in advance.
Conclusions: Wearable devices demonstrate clinically meaningful diagnostic utility across multiple cardiovascular domains. Nighttime BP inaccuracy, algorithm scope limitations and insufficient equity data remain key barriers to universal clinical integration.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Natalia Ostruszka, Maria Marusińska, Michał Karpiński, Michał Parzniewski, Wiktoria Czyż, Wojciech Markiewicz, Sabina Kolawa, Arnold Borowiec, Julia Pilecka, Jędrzej Wojciechowski
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