ESC 2024: Mass AF Screening via ECG Plus Heart Failure Biomarker Enhances Stroke Risk Prediction

A new study presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2024 suggests that mass atrial fibrillation (AF) screening using a combination of electrocardiography (ECG) and a heart failure biomarker can improve the prediction of stroke risk in individuals with low risk based on ECG alone.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia, affecting an estimated 33.5 million people worldwide. AF increases the risk of stroke five-fold, and approximately one-third of all strokes are attributed to AF. However, up to 20% of AF cases are asymptomatic, making them difficult to detect and manage.

Mass AF screening has been proposed as a way to identify asymptomatic AF and reduce the risk of stroke. The most commonly used screening method is ECG, but ECG alone has a relatively low sensitivity for detecting AF.

ESC 2024: Mass AF Screening via ECG Plus Heart Failure Biomarker Enhances Stroke Risk Prediction

The new study, presented at ESC 2024, sought to investigate whether adding a heart failure biomarker to ECG could improve the detection of AF and the prediction of stroke risk. The study included 5,044 individuals who underwent ECG and heart failure biomarker testing.

The researchers found that the addition of the heart failure biomarker to ECG significantly improved the detection of AF. The sensitivity of ECG alone for detecting AF was 52.6%, while the sensitivity of ECG plus the heart failure biomarker was 65.2%.

The researchers also found that the addition of the heart failure biomarker to ECG improved the prediction of stroke risk. Individuals with a low risk of stroke based on ECG alone had a significantly higher risk of stroke if they had an elevated heart failure biomarker.

The findings of this study suggest that mass AF screening using a combination of ECG and a heart failure biomarker could improve the detection of AF and the prediction of stroke risk. This approach could help to identify more individuals with asymptomatic AF and reduce the risk of stroke.

Further research is needed to confirm the findings of this study and to investigate the cost-effectiveness of mass AF screening using ECG plus a heart failure biomarker.