Assessment of Physical Activity Using Waist-Worn Accelerometers in Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients and Its Relationship with Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire

Abstract

The health benefits of physical activity have been widely recognized, yet there is limited information on associations between accelerometer-related parameters and established patient-reported health status. This study investigated the association between the waist-worn accelerometer measurements, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX), and results of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) in heart failure (HF) patients hospitalized for acute decompensation. A total of 31 patients were enrolled and wore a validated three-axis accelerometer for 2 weeks and completed the short version of the KCCQ after removing the device. Daily step counts, exercise time (metabolic equivalents × hours), and %sedentary time (sedentary time/device-equipped time) were measured. Among the measured parameters, the best correlation was observed between %sedentary time and the KCCQ overall and clinical summary scores (r = −0.65 and −0.65, each p < 0.001). All of the individual domains of the KCCQ (physical limitation, symptom frequency, and quality of life), with the exception of the social limitation domain, showed moderate correlations with %sedentary time. Finally, oxygen consumption assessed by CPX demonstrated only weak associations with the accelerometer-measured parameters. An accelerometer could complement the KCCQ results in accurately assessing the physical activity in HF patients immediately after hospitalization, albeit its correlation with CPX was at most moderate.

Device-measured physical activity, sedentary time, and sleep in patients with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy: descriptive values and stability over 30 measurement days

“…The activity patterns of people living with AC have only been described using selfreported measures (19)(20)(21)(22)(23). Activity monitors (e.g., accelerometers) might provide estimates of PA, SED, and sleep overcoming some of the bias that affect self-reported data (e.g., social desirability or recall bias) (24)(25)(26)(27)(28). Although the standard data collection protocols last seven days, the week-to-week stability of the measure has been questioned in the general population (29).…”

“…Activity monitors (e.g., accelerometers) are useful to non-invasively assess the PA, SED, and sleep habits, overcoming some of the bias that affect self-reported data (e.g., social desirability or recall bias). 29–33 Characterizing PA, SED and sleep in AC patients using objective methods is relevant to guide future clinical guidelines regarding these important health-related behaviors. In addition, although the standard accelerometer data collection protocols last approximately seven days, the week-to-week stability of the device-based measures has been questioned.…”