Using a smartphone-based ECG in adults is reported as considerably more AF than typical care within clinics!

A research group from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Heart Rhythm Institute, led by Stavros Stavrakis, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in Oklahoma City, reported that silent AF screening can be performed with mobile devices and detects more AF than standard in-clinic care.

The study analysed 2,323 participants (age ≥ 50, mean 61, 62% female) from a tribe in Oklahoma with no prior AF history. Single-lead ECGs taken in clinic using a tablet or smartphone-paired mobile device were compared to concurrently unscreened patients.

Stavrakis told Healio: "This leads to the appropriate initiation of blood thinners, which have been shown to reduce stroke. American Indian adults, like other indigenous populations, develop atrial fibrillation at younger ages than non-American Indian populations. This easy-to-implement approach has the potential to improve health outcomes among many American Indian adults who have historically endured greater health disparities."