Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology
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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. 'Silent', undiagnosed AF is often only detected with the first complication, e.g. a stroke. Detection of 'silent' AF prior to the first cerebrovascular event would be valuable to institute adequate therapy and prevent complications related to AF. We performed a simple electrocardiography (ECG) screening for silent AF in patients at risk for AF. ⋯ A simple ECG screening could help to detect 'silent' AF prior to the first cerebrovascular events, especially in patients with multiple cardiovascular conditions. Larger studies of such a screening are warranted.