ABSTRACT
Background: Both COVID-19 and the measures taken to control the pandemic may significantly affect cardiovascular health. The effects of a lockdown on physical activity and its potential consequences for arrhythmia burden remain largely unknown. Purpose(s): In this study, we investigated the effect of the lockdown during the first COVID-19 wave on patients' physical activity and arrhythmia burden. Method(s): All patients with an ICD connected to a Carelink homemonitoring system from two Dutch hospitals were included. Anonymized data on physical activity, heart rate, and occurrence of ventricular tachycardia/ fibrillation (VT/VF), and atrial fibrillation/tachycardia (AF/AT) were obtained and were compared between March-April 2020 (lockdown) and March-April 2019 (reference) within each patient. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Result(s): The ICDs of 531 patients registered significantly less activity during de lockdown period compared to the reference period (210+/-104 min vs 182+/-103 min, p<0.0001, Figure 1, panels A and B), while weather conditions improved (1A). Daytime and nighttime heart rates were significantly lower during lockdown compared to the reference period (71.3+/-9 bpm vs 72.6+/-9 bpm, p<0.0001 and 63.4+/-9 vs 63.8+/-9, p=0.02, respectively). AF/AT burden increased (Figure 2A) while number of VT/VF episodes decreased (2B). There was no significant difference in number of NSVT episodes. Conclusion(s): During the lockdown in the first COVID-19 wave, the Carelink system revealed significantly less activity, increase in AF/AT burden and decrease in VT/VF episodes. Further investigation is needed to understand the relationship between physical activity and the occurrence of arrhythmias in ICD patients. (Figure Presented).
ABSTRACT
Background: Both COVID-19 and the measures taken to control the pandemic may significantly affect cardiovascular health. The effects of a lockdown on physical activity and its potential consequences for arrhythmia burden remain largely unknown. Purpose: In this study, we investigated the effect of the lockdown during the first COVID-19 wave on patients' physical activity and arrhythmia burden. Methods: All patients with an ICD connected to a Carelink home-monitoring system from two Dutch hospitals were included. Anonymized data on physical activity, heart rate, and occurrence of ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF), and atrial fibrillation/tachycardia (AF/AT) were obtained and were compared between March-April 2020 (lockdown) and March-April 2019 (reference) within each patient. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Results: The ICDs of 531 patients registered significantly less activity during de lockdown period compared to the reference period (210±104 min vs 182±103 min, p<0.0001, Figure 1, panels A and B), while weather conditions improved (1A). Daytime and nighttime heart rates were significantly lower during lockdown compared to the reference period (71.3±9 bpm vs 72.6±9 bpm, p<0.0001 and 63.4±9 vs 63.8±9, p=0.02, respectively). AF/AT burden increased (Figure 2A) while number of VT/VF episodes decreased (2B). There was no significant difference in number of NSVT episodes. Conclusion: During the lockdown in the first COVID-19 wave, the Carelink system revealed significantly less activity, increase in AF/AT burden and decrease in VT/VF episodes. Further investigation is needed to understand the relationship between physical activity and the occurrence of arrhythmias in ICD patients. Funding Acknowledgement: Type of funding sources: None.Figure 1. Activity decreased during lockdownFigure 2. AF/AT increased while VT/VF decreased
ABSTRACT
Background: Both COVID-19 and the measures taken to control the pandemic may significantly affect cardiovascular health. The effects of a lockdown on physical activity and its potential consequences for arrhythmia burden remain largely unknown. Purpose: In this study, we investigated the effect of the lockdown during the first COVID-19 wave on patients' physical activity and arrhythmia burden. Methods: All patients with an ICD connected to a Carelink home-monitoring system from two Dutch hospitals were included. Anonymized data on physical activity, heart rate, and occurrence of ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF), and atrial fibrillation/tachycardia (AF/AT) were obtained and were compared between March-April 2020 (lockdown) and March-April 2019 (reference) within each patient. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Results: The ICDs of 531 patients registered significantly less activity during de lockdown period compared to the reference period (21,895 ±12,394min vs 25,173±12,532min, p<0.0001, panel a). Daytime and nighttime heart rates were significantly lower during lockdown compared to the reference period (71.3±9bpm vs 72.6±9bpm, p<0.0001 and 63.4±9 vs 63.8±9, p=0.02, respectively). 94 patients with VT/VF during the reference period did not show any VT/VF during lockdown, while only 4 patients without VT/VF during the reference period showed VT/VF during lockdown (p<0.0001, panel B). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of NSVT or AF/AT. Conclusion: During the lockdown in the first COVID-19 wave, the Carelink system revealed significantly less activity and lower heart rates. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in the occurrence of VT/VF. (Figure Presented).