Opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) is recommended, and improved methods of early identification could allow for the initiation of appropriate therapies to prevent the adverse health outcomes associated with AF. The primary endpoint was the incidence of a new diagnosis of AF at 4 months among those randomized to immediate monitoring vs delayed monitoring. A secondary endpoint was new AF diagnosis at 1 year in the combined actively monitored groups vs matched observational controls.
Other outcomes included new prescriptions for anticoagulants and health care utilization (outpatient cardiology visits, primary care visits, or AF-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations) at 1 year. The randomized groups included 2659 participants (mean [SD] age, 72.4 [7.3] years; 38.6% women), of whom 1738 (65.4%) completed active monitoring. The observational study…
