Smartphone App Helps Screen Populations for Atrial Fibrillation

Researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH; Hong Kong) conducted a study involving 13,122 Hong Kong citizens who consented and voluntarily participated in a territory-wide AF screening program between May 1, 2014, and April 30, 2015. The purpose of the study was to assess the feasibility of community screening using a smartphone-based wireless single-lead ECG (SL-ECG) and to generate epidemiological data on the prevalence and risk factors of AF in Hong Kong.

The 30-second test showed that 8.5% of those tested had AF, 101 cases (or 0.8%) of which had not been previously diagnosed; results were uninterpretable in only 0.4% of those tested. The AF fraction points to a disease prevalence comparable to that of populations in other developed countries. In two thirds of the new cases, the condition was symptomless, but their combined risk scores suggest that they would have benefited from treatment. The study was published on October 12, 2016, in Heart.

“Community screening for AF with SL-ECG was feasible, and it identified a significant proportion of citizens with newly diagnosed AF,” concluded study authors Ngai-yin Chan, MD, and Chi-chung Choy, MD, of PMH. “Increasing age (60+), male sex, weight, and a history of heart disease/surgery and peripheral vascular disease were all predictive of the condition.”

“In order to relieve both patients and society from the consequences of untreated AF, we believe and hope that AF screening in risk groups will be a part of the standard healthcare in many countries in the near future,” commented Emma Svennberg, MD, of the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden), and Johan Engdahl, MD, of the Sahlgrenska Academy (Göteborg, Sweden), in an accompanying editorial. “Besides, isn't it encouraging that we can use our smartphones to search for other things than Pokémons?”

AF is the most common heart rhythm disorder, affecting more than 30 million people worldwide, with five million new cases reported annually. Accurate diagnosis of AF is critical because antithrombotic treatment significantly reduces the risk of recurrent embolism and death. Treatment options include medications, which do not address the underlying problem, and minimally invasive, catheter-based ablation procedures, which are designed to disrupt the transmission of abnormal impulses in the heart.

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