United States – A wearable heart monitor increases the detection rate of serious irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation (A-fib), by over 50%, according to a new study.
Unluckily, no augmentation was witnessed in terms of the number of strokes avoided once people laid their hands on the devices, the researchers pointed out. A-fib rhythms can develop clots and the existence of these clots can bring about strokes, as reported by HealthDay.
No Observable Stroke Reduction
People expected that, with A-fib diagnosed in more individuals at an earlier stage, doctors could prescribe anti-clotting meds that might help reduce the frequency of strokes.
However, “we still need more convincing proof of the idea that selective detection of atrial fibrillation through screening can be followed by administration of the oral anticoagulation and consequently, reduction of the stroke risk,” Dr. Renato Lopes of the study. He is a medical faculty member at Duke University and a member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, which is based in Durham, N.C.
Lopes’ team reported their results on Sunday during the ESC annual London Congress, an international cardiology conference. It was also published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology at the same time.
In A-fib, “the atria, the heart’s upper chambers, contract erratically and at rates that are independent of the ventricles, the heart’s lower chambers,” the Mayo Clinic explains.
It may be symptomless, but it should be managed to decrease the risk of stroke: treatment is often medical therapy or ablation.
Study Details
The first thing that has to be noted is the identification of the condition. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer sponsored the new trial, which randomly assigned more than 12,000 Americans age 70 or older who had no previously diagnosed A-fib.
Participants were randomly allocated to ‘standard treatment’ or to being fitted with a continuous heart monitoring device for two weeks.
Researchers said the monitor-wearing group saw a 52% increase during the next 15 months of follow-up in the number of patients whose A-fib had been discovered.
Study Limitations
However, the trial’s enrollment could only reach about 12,500 participants due to the emergence of the pandemic, as reported by HealthDay.
The trial was, in the first place, planned for more than 52,000 people, which Lopes’ team underlined, which makes it possible to assume that if the numbers have been reached, the conclusion regarding better detection of A-fib leading to more timely treatment and, subsequently, a decreased risk of stroke, could have been made.