BACKGROUND: Sedentary behavior is thought to contribute to worsening heart failure syndromes. Here, we examined whether the shelter-in-place order during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic changed daily activity duration, which was monitored by an implantable cardiac device-based multisensor index and alert algorithm called HeartLogic.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of the HeartLogic data from patients with heart failure managed at our clinic and compared the individual daily activity duration 90 days prior to vs. after implementation of the shelter-in-place order. The activity data were prepared by Boston Scientific. Demographic data were extracted from our electronic medical record.

RESULTS: In total, 29 patients were included in the analysis. Among them, 14 patients did not have any significant changes in daily activity duration compared to their baseline before the shelter-in-place order (108.62 ± 45 min vs. 107.71 ± 48.6 min, P = 0.723). Among the rest 15 patients with significant changes, seven patients had a significant reduction in activity duration; meanwhile, eight patients had a significant increase in activity duration. Overall, the mean daily activity duration 90 days before and after the shelter-in-place order are 98.21 ± 60.83 min, and 100.03 ± 68.18 min (P = 0.753).

CONCLUSIONS: No significant changes in terms of activity duration were observed in our patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.