• Mintu P Turakhia, Aditya J Ullal, Donald D Hoang, Claire T Than, Jared D Miller, Karen J Friday, Marco V Perez, James V Freeman, Paul J Wang, and Paul A Heidenreich.
• Department of Cardiology, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California.
• Clin Cardiol. 2015 May 1; 38 (5): 285-92.

BackgroundIdentification of silent atrial fibrillation (AF) could prevent stroke and other sequelae.HypothesisScreening for AF using continuous ambulatory electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring can detect silent AF in asymptomatic in patients with known risk factors.MethodsWe performed a single-center prospective screening study using a wearable patch-based device that provides up to 2 weeks of continuous ambulatory ECG monitoring (iRhythm Technologies, Inc.). Inclusion criteria were age ≥55 years and ≥2 of the following risk factors: coronary disease, heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea. We excluded patients with prior AF, stroke, transient ischemic attack, implantable pacemaker or defibrillator, or with palpitations or syncope in the prior year.ResultsOut of 75 subjects (all male, age 69 ± 8.0 years; ejection fraction 57% ± 8.7%), AF was detected in 4 subjects (5.3%; AF burden 28% ± 48%). Atrial tachycardia (AT) was present in 67% (≥4 beats), 44% (≥8 beats), and 6.7% (≥60 seconds) of subjects. The combined diagnostic yield of sustained AT/AF was 11%. In subjects without sustained AT/AF, 11 (16%) had ≥30 supraventricular ectopic complexes per hour.ConclusionsOutpatient extended ECG screening for asymptomatic AF is feasible, with AF identified in 1 in 20 subjects and sustained AT/AF identified in 1 in 9 subjects, respectively. We also found a high prevalence of asymptomatic AT and frequent supraventricular ectopic complexes, which may be relevant to development of AF or stroke. If confirmed in a larger study, primary screening for AF could have a significant impact on public health.© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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