Cleveland Clinic London Survey: Nearly half of UK Adults Use Health Monitoring Technology

LONDON: According to the British Heart Foundation, 7.6 million people are living with heart and circulatory diseases in the United Kingdom. In recognition of National Heart Month, Cleveland Clinic London surveyed over 2,300 adults in the UK to gauge how they use their wearable technology to monitor heart health. 

The survey examined how UK adults are using technology to improve their health, with 46% saying they use at least one type of technology to monitor their health. Daily step count is the most tracked health-related metric (78%), followed by heart rate/pulse (47%) and sleep habits (40%) among those who use such technology. Notably, almost half (49%) of UK adults said they started getting more steps in per day after they began using monitoring technology. 

Additional findings of the survey: 

• 47% monitor their heart rate/pulse 
• 37% track their burned calories 
• 13% track their blood pressure 
• 40% are tracking their sleep habits

“Lifestyle choices can help reduce your risk of heart disease, so it’s important to have a heart- healthy diet, exercise and know your risk factors,” said Bernard Prendergast, Department Chair for Cardiology at Cleveland Clinic London. “Wearable technology can help keep yourself accountable in making those healthy lifestyle changes, like making your daily step count or monitoring your blood pressure.” 

UK adults using health monitoring technology are experiencing many physical benefits and positive lifestyle changes that include: 

• 39% exercise more regularly
• 24% have lost weight
• 28% are more motivated to work out
• 22% make sure they get more sleep at night

Cleveland Clinic London offers tips to help stay healthy and lower your risk of heart disease:

• Move around more: Physical activity is important in preventing heart disease because it improves how well your heart pumps blood through your body. It helps you prevent or manage many heart disease risk factors. These risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol and overweight /obesity.
• Keep a weight that’s healthy for you: Carrying extra weight (especially around your waist) can put a burden on your heart and blood vessels. It may cause you to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides and be at increased risk for diabetes.
• Get the sleep you need: A lack of sleep puts you at risk for conditions that lead to heart disease, like diabetes, a high BMI and high blood pressure.
• Eat heart-healthy foods: Heart-healthy foods give you nutrients that support your heart. Healthy eating plans limit or get rid of ingredients that can raise your blood pressure or clog your arteries. The Mediterranean diet is one such plan with proven benefits.
• Manage high blood pressure: Blood pressure is a measurement of the force inside your arteries each time your heart beats. High blood pressure makes your heart and kidneys work harder. Over time, this raises your risk of heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease and stroke.
• Get a yearly checkup: Keeping up with your appointments allows your doctor to catch signs of heart disease early. As with most health conditions, early diagnosis gives you the best chance of successful treatment.
• Manage your stress level: Your blood pressure can go up when you’re feeling stressed.

For more information, go to: clevelandclinic.org/loveyourheart 

Methodology

This survey has been conducted using an online interview administered to members of the YouGov Plc panel of individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys. Emails are sent to panelists selected at random from the base sample. The email invites them to take part in a survey and provides a generic survey link. Once a panel member clicks on the link they are sent to the survey that they are most required for, according to the sample definition and quotas. (The sample definition could be “US adult population” or a subset such as “US adult females”). Invitations to surveys don’t expire and respondents can be sent to any available survey. The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide a representative reporting sample. The profile is normally derived from census data or, if not available from the census, from industry accepted data.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2354 adults, of whom 1,097 use health monitoring technology. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24th – 26th January 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).