To screen or not to screen? Examining the arguments against screening for atrial fibrillation.

Neubeck, Lis; Orchard, Jessica; Lowres, Nicole; Freedman, S. Ben

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, with a lifetime risk of 1 in 4 of developing AF over the age of 40 years. Around 40% of patients are asymptomatic, which is of concern as AF is a major risk factor for stroke. Early detection and appropriate management reduces stroke risk by two-thirds. AF screening is now recommended in international guidelines, but there are some common arguments against screening. Overall, to be of value any screening program must fulfil the World Health Organisation (WHO) Wilson and Jungner criteria for screening programs. In this paper we address the common arguments and determine if AF screening fulfils the WHO criteria.

Citation

Neubeck, L., Orchard, J., Lowres, N., & Freedman, S. B. (2017). To screen or not to screen? Examining the arguments against screening for atrial fibrillation. Heart, Lung and Circulation, 26(9), 880-886. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlc.2017.05.118

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: May 5, 2017
• Online Publication Date: May 24, 2017
• Publication Date: 2017-09
• Deposit Date: May 5, 2017
• Journal: Heart, Lung and Circulation
• Print ISSN: 1443-9506
• Electronic ISSN: 1444-2892
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 880-886
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlc.2017.05.118
• Keywords: Atrial fibrillation, screening technology,
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/839251