TY  - JOUR
AU  - Texiwala, Sikander Z
AU  - de Souza, Russell J
AU  - Turner, Suzette
AU  - Singh, Sheldon M
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/2/5
TI  - Physical Activity, Heart Rate Variability, and Ventricular Arrhythmia During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Retrospective Cohort Study
JO  - JMIR Cardio
SP  - e51399
VL  - 8
KW  - implantable cardioverter defibrillator
KW  - heart rate variability
KW  - physical activity
KW  - lockdown
KW  - ICD
KW  - ventricular arrhythmias
KW  - defibrillator
KW  - implementation
AB  - Background: Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) increase with stress and national disasters. Prior research has reported that VA did not increase during the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, and the mechanism for this is unknown. Objective: This study aimed to report the presence of VA and changes in 2 factors associated with VA (physical activity and heart rate variability [HRV]) at the onset of COVID-19 lockdown measures in Ontario, Canada. Methods: Patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) followed at a regional cardiac center in Ontario, Canada with data available for both HRV and physical activity between March 1 and 31, 2020, were included. HRV, physical activity, and the presence of VA were determined during the pre- (March 1-10, 2020) and immediate postlockdown (March 11-31) period. When available, these data were determined for the same period in 2019. Results: In total, 68 patients had complete data for 2020, and 40 patients had complete data for 2019. Three (7.5%) patients had VA in March 2019, whereas none had VA in March 2020 (P=.048). Physical activity was reduced during the postlockdown period (mean 2.3, SD 1.6 hours vs mean 2.1, SD 1.6 hours; P=.003). HRV was unchanged during the pre- and postlockdown period (mean 91, SD 30 ms vs mean 92, SD 28 ms; P=.84). Conclusions: VA was infrequent during the COVID-19 pandemic. A reduction in physical activity with lockdown maneuvers may explain this observation. 
SN  - 2561-1011
UR  - https://cardio.jmir.org/2024/1/e51399
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/51399
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38315512
DO  - 10.2196/51399
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/51399
ER  -