University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications
UMMS Affiliation
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine
Publication Date
2020-11-12
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Cardiology | Cardiovascular Diseases | Geriatrics | Health Services Administration | Telemedicine
Abstract
Background
Geriatric conditions (eg, cognitive impairment, frailty) are increasingly recognized for their impact on clinical and quality-of-life outcomes in older patients with cardiovascular disease, but are not systematically assessed in the context of clinical visits owing to time constraints.
Objective
To examine feasibility of remote monitoring of the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial status of older adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) via a novel smartphone app over 6 months.
Methods
Forty participants with AF and eligible for anticoagulation therapy (CHA2DS2VASc ≥2) enrolled in an ongoing cohort study participated in a mobile health pilot study. A 6-component geriatric assessment, including validated measures of frailty, cognitive function, social support, depressive symptoms, vision, and hearing, was deployed via a smartphone app and 6-minute walk test was completed using a Fitbit. Adherence to mobile assessments was examined over 6 months.
Results
Participants were an average of 71 years old (range 65–86 years) and 38% were women. At 1 month, 75% (30/40) of participants completed the app-based geriatric assessment and 63% (25/40) completed the 6-minute walk test. At 6 months, 52% (15/29) completed the geriatric assessment and 28% (8/29) completed the walk test. There were no differences in demographic, clinical, or psychosocial factors between participants who completed the surveys at 6 months and those who did not. Participants, on average, required less than 10 minutes of telephone support over the 6-month period.
Conclusion
It is feasible, among smartphone users, to use a mobile health app and wearable activity monitor to conduct serial geriatric assessments in older patients with AF for up to 6 months.
Keywords
Atrial fibrillation, Geriatric assessment, Mobile health application, Older adults
Rights and Permissions
© 2020 Heart Rhythm Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
DOI of Published Version
10.1016/j.cvdhj.2020.11.002
Source
Trymbulak K, Ding E, Marino F, Wang Z, Saczynski JS. Mobile health assessments of geriatric elements in older patients with atrial fibrillation: The Mobile SAGE-AF Study (M-SAGE). Cardiovascular Digital Health Journal. 2020 Nov 12;1(3)123-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvdhj.2020.11.002
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Cardiovascular Digital Health Journal
Repository Citation
Trymbulak K, Ding EY, Marino F, Wang Z. (2020). Mobile health assessments of geriatric elements in older patients with atrial fibrillation: The Mobile SAGE-AF Study (M-SAGE). University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvdhj.2020.11.002. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/faculty_pubs/1864
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Included in
Cardiology Commons, Cardiovascular Diseases Commons, Geriatrics Commons, Health Services Administration Commons, Telemedicine Commons