Validity of six consumer-level activity monitors for measuring steps in patients with chronic heart failure

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Abstract
Although numerous activity trackers have been validated in healthy populations, validation is lacking in chronic heart failure patients who normally walk at a slower pace, making it difficult for researchers and clinicians to implement activity monitors during physical activity interventions. Six consumer-level activity monitors were validated in a 3-day field study in patients with chronic heart failure and healthy individuals under free living conditions. Furthermore, the same devices were evaluated in a lab-based study during treadmill walking at speeds of 2.4, 3.0, 3.6, and 4.2 km·h-1. Concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) were used to evaluate the agreement between the activity monitors and the criterion, and mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) were calculated to assess differences between each device and the criterion (MAPE -1, all activity monitors showed substantial to almost perfect correlations (CCC ≥0.95) with the criterion and MAPE in the range 1%-3%. However, at slower speeds of 3.0 and 2.4 km·h-1, the accuracy of all devices substantially deteriorated: their correlation with the criterion decreased below 90% and their MAPE increased to 4–8% and 10–45%, respectively. Even though none of the tested activity monitors fall within arbitrary thresholds for validity, most of them perform reasonably well enough to be useful tools that clinicians can use to simply motivate chronic heart failure patients to walk more.
Funding Information
  • Charles University Grant Agency (GAUK 1302317)
  • Czech Health Research Council of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (NV18-09-00146)

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