The New Era in AF Screening at Home
Overview
Atrial fibrillation (also called AFib) is the most common form of irregular heart rhythm that often occurs with hypertension and could lead to a stroke if left unchecked. For people already measuring blood pressure at home as part of their hypertensive care, regular electrocardiogram (ECG) screening can help to identify heart rhythm irregularities that can lead to more serious cardiac problems.
People with high blood pressure have a higher risk—40% in women and 50% in men—of atrial fibrillation (AFib), both of which are leading identifiers of stroke.1 AFib is associated with a 5x greater risk of stroke, but effective treatment may reduce this risk.2-4 In the early stages of AFib, the condition recurs less frequently and is more difficult to detect. For many people, AFib is currently undetected and therefore untreated. Up to 50% of AFib cases present with no subjective symptoms, making it unlikely to detect in an annual physical exam.5
Along with daily blood pressure measurements, screening and diagnosing with a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is recommended in medical guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) to help increase AFib detection rates, which may reduce the risk of stroke through earlier treatment.6
Key References
1. Verdecchia P, Angeli F, Reboldi G. Hypertension and atrial fibrillation: doubts and certainties from basic and clinical studies. Circ Res. 2018;122(2):352-368.
Complications: atrial fibrillation. NHS. Reviewed April 24, 2018. Accessed November 2, 2020. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/atrial-fibrillation/complications.
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.
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.
Esato M, Chun Y, An Y, et al. Clinical impact of asymptomatic presentation status in patients with paroxysmal and sustained atrial fibrillation: the Fushimi AF Registry. Chest. 2017;152(6):1266-1275.
Hindricks G, Potpara T, Dagres N, et al. 2020 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis 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.
Learning Objectives
- ESC 2020 guidelines for atrial fibrillation and the use of one lead ECG devices
- Insights on the effect of AF for patients if not diagnosed/treated in time
- How patients can benefit from new tools for screening AF
Audience
- This webinar aims to engage cardiologists, specialized in atrial fibrillation, GPs and internist.
Agenda
