Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyTrial design
Patient-Led Smartwatch ECG Follow-Up Strategy After Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Ablation
- prospective, randomized controlled trial
- prespecified audit of the smartwatch-derived rhythm classification
Study context
- Population
- Adults undergoing first-time AF ablation
- Participants
- 168 enrolled participants
- Planned comparison
- Apple Watch-based protocol or standard follow-up
No results yet. This paper sets out the design of a trial; its results are to come.
Baseline
| Outcome | OR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AF on symptom-annotated vs unannotated ECGs · symptom-annotated ECGs more likely to show AF | 16.1 (13.0–19.9) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.050.21520Odds ratio (log scale) |
| Outcome | Active-arm | standard follow-up | Estimate | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECGs recorded and transmitted for review (Active arm) · 12 months | ||||
| ECGs recorded | 170 (IQR 93-380) | Not reported in the abstract | ||
| transmitted for review | 1.9% (0.0-8.3) | Not reported in the abstract |
Baseline characteristics of enrolled participants
- mean age
- 60.5 ± 9.9 years
- female
- 52 (31.0%)
- persistent AF
- 84 (50.0%)
Watch-derived rhythm label accuracy
- AF label positive predictive value
- 0.96
- sinus rhythm label positive predictive value
- 0.95
- ECGs unclassified
- one-third
- Primary clinical outcomes are reported in a companion Brief Report.
Original publication
Patient-Led Smartwatch ECG Follow-Up Strategy After AF Ablation. JACC Adv. Published 28 January 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jacadv.2025.102534
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it