Opportunistic Screening for Atrial Fibrillation in the Pharmacies: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

High Blood Pressure & Cardiovascular Prevention : the Official Journal of the Italian Society of Hypertension
Marco BacchiniPietro Minuz

Abstract

Opportunistic screening of atrial fibrillation is a valuable approach to the identification of subjects with unknown or non-symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) with the potential of reducing the burden of ischemic stroke in the population. To evaluate the feasibility of a large-scale screening for atrial fibrillation using a blood pressure monitor (MicrolifeAFIB) endowed with a validated algorithm able to detect AF calculating the irregularity of interval times between heartbeats. In this cross-sectional study conducted in 74 pharmacies in Verona participated 3071 people aged 50 years or more. In 6 months, information about drugs, previous diagnoses of cardiovascular diseases, anthropometric and demographic data was recorded, together with the measurement of blood pressure and cardiac rhythm by using the MicrolifeAFIB device. Pharmacists also collected anthropometric and demographic data of the participants, along with information concerning their personal history of cardiovascular disease and the use of antihypertensive and antithrombotic agents. All those who were positive at the screening for atrial fibrillation were referred to their family doctor. The screening revealed 98 subjects (3.2%) positive for AF; 44 of these repo...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 13, 2020·High Blood Pressure & Cardiovascular Prevention : the Official Journal of the Italian Society of Hypertension·Alex S MankooUNKNOWN LeiSTAR SteeringCommittee
Oct 17, 2020·European Journal of Clinical Investigation·Vicente Bertomeu-GonzalezUNKNOWN FANTASIIA Study Investigators
Apr 29, 2021·JMIR MHealth and UHealth·Tom E BierstekerRoderick W Treskes

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