Selecting Wearable Devices to Measure Cardiovascular Functions in Community-Dwelling Adults: Application of a Practical Guide for Device Selection

Continuous monitoring of cardiovascular functions can provide crucial insights into the health status and lifestyle behaviors of an individual. Wearable devices offer a convenient and cost-effective solution for collecting cardiovascular measurements outside clinical settings. However, the abundance of available devices poses challenges for researchers, health care professionals, and device users in selecting the most suitable one. This article illustrates the application of a practical guide for selecting wearable devices for the continuous monitoring of cardiovascular functions in community-dwelling adults who are generally healthy or have minimal, well-managed chronic conditions. An initial systematic review of the literature revealed 216 devices, each of which were assessed on the basis of 5 core criteria from the guide: (1) continuous monitoring capability, (2) device availability and suitability, (3) technical performance (accuracy and precision), (4) feasibility of use, and (5) cost evaluation. From the 216 devices, there were 136 devices capable of continuous monitoring. After the exclusion of unavailable and unsuitable devices, 53 devices underwent validation assessment of accuracy and precision. Although COSMIN criteria were applied to evaluate technical performance, a lack of validation for certain devices limits a comprehensive evaluation. After selection of valid devices, the feasibility and cost of 20 devices were examined. Wearable devices, such as the Apple Watch Series 9, Fitbit Charge 6, Garmin vívosmart 5, and Oura Ring Gen3, emerged as suitable devices to measure cardiovascular function in community-dwelling adults. The systematic process for device selection could also be applied to select wearable devices for the measurement of other physiologic variables and lifestyle behaviors.