Onset of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced active time in patients with implanted cardiac devices

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for chronic diseases and mortality.
• COVID-19 pandemic-related lifestyle changes may have exacerbated sedentary behavior.
• Patients with cardiac implantable devices may be particularly vulnerable to activity changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity levels in patients with permanent pacemakers (PPM) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD).
• To compare activity changes during the pandemic with pre-pandemic periods, accounting for aging and seasonality.
• To explore the relationship between activity reduction and adverse health outcomes like hospital admissions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of accelerometry data from 332 PPM and 244 ICD patients across six time points.
• Paired t-tests with Bonferroni correction were used for statistical comparisons between time periods.
• Logistic regression analyses examined the association between activity reduction and hospital/emergency department admissions.

Main Results:

• A significant decrease in daily active hours was observed during the pandemic period compared to the previous year for both PPM (0.53 ± 1.18h/day) and ICD (0.51 ± 1.2h/day) patients.
• Patients with lower baseline activity (<2h/day), especially those with ICDs, showed a more pronounced reduction in activity.
• A trend suggested increased hospital/ED admissions for PPM patients with greater activity reduction during the pandemic onset.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 pandemic onset led to a significant decline in physical activity among PPM and ICD patients.
• This activity reduction was more pronounced in less active individuals and was not attributable to aging or seasonal factors.
• Sustained inactivity in these patient populations could lead to increased cardiovascular morbidity.