BIRMINGHAM, England, Aug. 3 -- When seeking to reduce the risk of stroke in older patients by screening for atrial fibrillation, a pulse-based system is an effective approach, found researchers here.
In a multicenter study, a British team found that "opportunistic" screening by an irregular pulse, followed by electrocardiography if needed, was as effective as systematic population screening and more sensitive than non-systematic case finding.
"This finding suggests that routine electrocardiography within this population is unnecessary for the detection of atrial fibrillation as long as healthcare professionals are conscientious about feeling the pulse," F.D. Richard Hobbs, M.B., Ch.B., of the University of Birmingham, and colleagues, reported in BMJ Online First.
The two screening strategies were similar in detecting atrial fibrillation and both were almost 60% better than non-systematic case finding.
