# Smartwatch Monitoring for Atrial Fibrillation After Stroke

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · 2021 · $731,023

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the world’s most common serious heart rhythm problem and causes 15% of all strokes,
a major cause of disability and death among Americans. Long-term monitoring for early AF detection and
treatment is recommended for many stroke patients, but although existing cardiac monitors are accurate, they
suffer from methodologic and cost limitations that preclude their long-term use. In the proposed, “Smartwatch
Monitoring for Atrial Fibrillation Real-Time in Stroke,” Study, our overall objective is to enhance paroxysmal
AF (pAF) detection by enhancing and testing Pulsewatch, an innovative, smartwatch-based technology
for long-term rhythm monitoring of stroke patients. For Aim 1, we embed our state-of-the art AF detection
algorithms, interactive messaging to promote adherence, and novel contact and motion noise correction
capabilities into a smartwatch to enable near-continuous pulse waveform analysis. We will further refine
Pulsewatch through focus groups and a Hack-a-thon with stroke patients and their medical providers. For Aim
2, we will enroll 90 stroke survivors and provide them with a smartphone and smartwatch, both encoded with
Pulsewatch. We will compare the performance of Pulsewatch when worn daily for 7 days to conventional 7-day
cardiac monitoring for pAF detection. For Aim 3, we will determine the acceptability and usability of Pulsewatch
through follow-up interviews and focus groups in 30 randomly selected participants from Aim 2 asked to
continue wearing smartwatch daily for an additional 30 days. We will identify patient factors associated with
adherence and evaluate the impact of Pulsewatch use on disease-specific quality of life, anxiety, and self-
activation among the 30 users compared to 30 stroke patients treated with usual care through baseline and 1-
month assessments. Our research will lead to the development of a highly acceptable, enabling
cardiovascular monitoring technology designed by, and for, stroke patients that facilitates long-term
non-invasive screening for pAF, as well as communication between stroke patients and their medical
providers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10124424
- **Project number:** 5R01HL137734-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Ki H Chon
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $731,023
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-15 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10124424

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10124424, Smartwatch Monitoring for Atrial Fibrillation After Stroke (5R01HL137734-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10124424. Licensed CC0.

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