Atrial fibrillation screening

Overview
Screening for atrial fibrillation is generally not performed, although a study of routine pulse checks or electrocardiograms during routine office visits found that the annual rate of detection of atrial fibrillation in elderly patients improved from 1.04% to 1.63%. Identification of such patients for prophylactic anticoagulation might in turn reduce the risk of stroke in that age category.

The estimated sensitivity of the routine primary care visit in the detection of atrial fibrillation is 64%. This low sensitivity probably reflects the fact that the pulse is not being checked routinely or carefully.