Clinical Implications of Technological Advances in Screening for Atrial Fibrillation

Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2018 Jan-Feb;60(4-5):550-559. doi: 10.1016/j.pcad.2018.01.007. Epub 2018 Jan 16.

Abstract

The incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) continues to increase worldwide as people live longer. AF is the leading cause of stroke among patients older than 75 years and is responsible for at least 15% of all strokes. Industry has responded to this problem with a plethora of monitoring devices. These include single lead ECG adhesive sensors, implantable loop recorders, smartphone attachments and wearables. This review will concentrate on clinical studies using these technologies. There are wearables including watches and watch-like devices that will be mentioned but these have not been validated for clinical use. This review will begin with a background regarding screening for AF and at the end present findings from Cardiac Implantable devices that could influence use of the new mobile health technologies.

Keywords: Ambulatory ECG monitoring; Atrial fibrillation; Screening.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Atrial Fibrillation / diagnosis*
  • Electrocardiography, Ambulatory* / instrumentation
  • Electrocardiography, Ambulatory* / methods
  • Electrocardiography, Ambulatory* / trends
  • Humans
  • Mass Screening / methods
  • Telemedicine / methods