Current Science on Consumer Use of Mobile Health for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

A lthough mortality for cardiovascular disease (CVD) has declined for several decades, heart disease and stroke continue to be the leading causes of death, disability, and high healthcare costs. Unhealthy behaviors related to CVD risk (eg, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and unhealthful eating habits) remain highly prevalent. The high rates of overweight, obesity, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); the persistent presence of uncontrolled hypertension; lipid levels not at target ; and the ≈18% of adults who continue to smoke cigarettes pose formidable challenges for achieving improved cardiovas-cular health. It is apparent that the performance of healthful behaviors related to the management of CVD risk factors has become an increasingly important facet of the prevention and management of CVD. 3 In 2010, the American Heart Association (AHA) made a transformative shift in its strategic plan and added the concept of cardiovascular health. 2 To operationalize this concept, the AHA targeted 4 health behaviors in the 2020 Strategic Impact Goals: reduction in smoking and weight, healthful eating, and promotion of regular physical activity. Three health indicators also were included: glucose, blood pressure (BP), and cholesterol. On the basis of the AHA Life's Simple 7 metrics for improved cardiovascular health, <1% of adults in the United States follow a healthful eating plan, only 32% have a normal body mass index, and > 30% have not reached the target levels for lipids or BP. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data revealed that people who met ≥6 of the cardiovascular health metrics had a significantly better risk profile (hazard ratio for all-cause mortality, 0.49) compared with individuals who had achieved only 1 metric or none. 2 The studies reviewed in this statement targeted these behaviors (ie, smoking, physical activity, healthful eating, and maintaining a healthful weight) and cardiovascular health indicators (ie, blood glucose, lipids, BP, body mass index) as the primary outcomes in the clinical trials testing mobile health (mHealth) interventions. eHealth, or digital health, is the use of emerging communication and information technologies, especially the Internet, to improve health and health care 4 (Table 1). mHealth, a subsegment of eHealth, is the use of mobile computing and communication technologies (eg, mobile phones, wearable sensors) for health services and information. 4,5 mHealth technology uses techniques and advanced concepts from an array of disciplines, for example, computer science, electrical and The American Heart Association makes every effort to avoid any actual or potential conflicts …