In this symposium, held at the ESC Congress 2021, leading faculty discussed home screening for stroke prevention.
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) commonly occurs with hypertension, and is associated with a 5x greater risk of stroke.1 With effective treatment, the risk of stroke can be reduced. 2,3 However, up to 50% of AFib cases present with no subjective symptoms, making it unlikely to detect in an annual physical exam. 4 To reduce patients’ risk of stroke, medical guidelines recommend daily blood pressure measurements and screening with a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG).5
Learning Objectives
- Recall the pathophysiology of hypertension in the development of AF and stroke
- Review the latest guidance on the use of home screening for AF
- Select individuals likely to benefit from home blood pressure and ECG monitoring
- Recognise the key features of one lead ECG that make it a practical screening tool for AF
Faculty
Moderator
Prof Jeroen Bax
Panel
Prof Gerhard Hindricks
Assoc Prof Keitaro Senoo
References
1. Complications: atrial fibrillation. NHS. Reviewed April 24, 2018. Accessed November 2, 2020. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/atrial-fibrillation/complications. 2. Gómez-Outes A, Lagunar-Ruíz J, Terleira-Fernández A, Calvo-Rojas G, Suárez-Gea ML, Vargas-Castrillón E. Causes of death in anticoagulated patients with atrial fibrillation. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016;68(23):2508-2521.3. Hart RG, Pearce LA, Aguilar MI. Meta-analysis: antithrombotic therapy to prevent stroke in patients who have nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146(12):857-867. 4. Esato M, Chun Y, An Y, et al. Clinical impact of asymptomaticpresentation status in patients with paroxysmal and sustained atrial fibrillation: the Fushimi AF Registry. Chest. 2017;152(6):1266-1275. 5. Hindricks G, Potpara T, Dagres N, et al. 2020 ESC Guidelines for thediagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with the European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS). Eur Heart J. 2020;ehaa612. doi:10.10/93/eurheartj/ehaa612.
