The article tells me more about the dangers of overtraining at an advanced age than the usefulness of wearables. The wearable was useful for the researchers after the person had already passed away.
Also, considering the number of such workouts he completed and the fact that it seems he was aware of his deteriorating heart, he carried on? Even despite reported fatigue? Mad respect for his determination.
If you look at supplemental table S6 (which is admittedly inconvenient because it's a separately downloaded MS Word document) you get this:
S6. Summary of indoor cycling (Peloton) workouts by year (2018–2025)
In 2021-2022 the patient was doing 2-3 workouts a week on a stationary bicycle. And 177 watts for 30 minutes is solid, at age 72.Going up to 5-6 workouts per week is a step up, but this wasn't an inexperienced rider. And who knows how much outdoor cycling they did, which the Peloton wouldn't have recorded?
76 (already a good age) with an existing heart condition and increases HIIT exercise frequency by 25%.
I wonder if they consulted their physician before doing that, and what they recommended?
My (35) physician explicitly advised me against my 8-10 hour road cycling sessions pointing out changes in the heart wall thickness he was already able to observe.