Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) continue to be the leading cause of death, disability, and high healthcare costs worldwide. Unhealthy behaviors related to CVD risk (e.g., physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, smoking, stress, and sleep deprivation) remain highly prevalent. Recent advances in wearable and smart sensing technologies for the monitoring, prevention and management of CVDs present enormous opportunities for improving cardiovascular health outcomes by offering novel digital health services and interventions. Wearable devices such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, electrocardiogram patches, and other sensor-based technologies can be worn for short or extended periods to monitor physiological changes in real-time (e.g., heart rate, physical activity, and sleep quality). Such devices can empower individuals to assume a more active role in self-monitoring their condition, including health and wellness. In addition, these technology-mediated tools can facilitate the collection and transmission of large amounts of patient-generated health data, thereby enabling clinicians, decision makers and researchers to assess multiple health parameters and behaviors in various contexts. This in turn allows the development of personalized treatment plans (precision medicine), as well as behavioral interventions to enhance adherence, promote healthy lifestyle behaviors, and facilitate the self-management of CVD. The recent advances in wearable and smart sensing technologies have lead to new, multidisciplinary approaches in biomedical and health informatics research and created exciting opportunities in the field of cardiology.

This special issue aims to highlight some of the latest developments in the field of wearable and smart sensor technologies, with a particular focus on the prevention and management of CVD. The goal is to bring together a collection of original research papers, review articles (e.g., scoping reviews, systematic reviews, rapid reviews) and viewpoints on the topic of wearable and smart sensing technologies in cardiology in order to make a significant contribution to this rapidly growing field.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
•    Feasibility, pilot, and/or efficacy testing studies of digital health interventions that incorporate wearable sensor devices 
•    Development and testing of wearable sensor devices for cardiac health monitoring 
•    Reliability and validity studies of novel wearable sensor technologies
•    Smart sensing for cardiac health monitoring and prevention of adverse events (e.g., heart attacks, heart failure decompensations)
•    Wearable sensor devices for cardiac rehabilitation 
•    Wearable biosensors for cardiovascular monitoring (e.g., ECG patch monitoring devices) 
•    Reviews of wearable and/or smart sensing technologies in the field of cardiology
•    Development, testing, and comparison of wearable technologies for primary and secondary cardiovascular disease management and/or prevention

Dr. Guy Paré and Dr. Spyros Kitsiou

Guest Editors