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Mant J, Modi RN, Charlton P, Dymond A, Massou E, Brimicombe J, Freedman B, Griffin SJ, Hobbs FDR, Lip GYH, McManus RJ, Williams K. The feasibility of population screening for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation using hand-held electrocardiogram devices. Europace 2024; 26:euae056. [PMID: 38411621 PMCID: PMC10946414 DOI: 10.1093/europace/euae056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
AIMS There are few data on the feasibility of population screening for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) using hand-held electrocardiogram (ECG) devices outside a specialist setting or in people over the age of 75. We investigated the feasibility of screening when conducted without face-to-face contact ('remote') or via in-person appointments in primary care and explored impact of age on screening outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS People aged ≥65 years from 13 general practices in England participated in screening during 2019-20. This involved attending a practice nurse appointment (10 practices) or receiving an ECG device by post (three practices). Participants were asked to use a hand-held ECG for 1-4 weeks. Screening outcomes included uptake, quality of ECGs, AF detection rates, and uptake of anticoagulation if AF was detected. Screening was carried out by 2141 (87.5%) of people invited to practice nurse-led screening and by 288 (90.0%) invited to remote screening. At least 56 interpretable ECGs were provided by 98.0% of participants who participated for 3 weeks, with no significant differences by setting or age, except people aged 85 or over (91.1%). Overall, 2.6% (64/2429) screened participants had AF, with detection rising with age (9.2% in people aged 85 or over). A total of 53/64 (82.8%) people with AF commenced anticoagulation. Uptake of anticoagulation did not vary by age. CONCLUSION Population screening for paroxysmal AF is feasible in general practice and without face-to-face contact for all ages over 64 years, including people aged 85 and over.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Mant
- Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Strangeways Research Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts’ Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
| | - Rakesh N Modi
- Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Strangeways Research Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts’ Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
| | - Peter Charlton
- Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Strangeways Research Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts’ Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
| | - Andrew Dymond
- Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Strangeways Research Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts’ Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
| | - Efthalia Massou
- Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Strangeways Research Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts’ Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
| | - James Brimicombe
- Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Strangeways Research Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts’ Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
| | - Ben Freedman
- Heart Research Institute, University of Sydney, Room 3114, Level 3 East, D17 - Charles Perkins Centre, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Simon J Griffin
- Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Strangeways Research Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts’ Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
- MRC Epidemiology Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0SL, UK
| | - F D Richard Hobbs
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK
| | - Gregory Y H Lip
- Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science at University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Liverpool, UK
- Danish Center for Health Services Research, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Richard J McManus
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK
| | - Kate Williams
- Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Strangeways Research Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts’ Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN, UK
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