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December 26, 2018

Opportunistic Electrocardiogram Screening for Atrial Fibrillation to Prevent Stroke

Author Affiliations
  • 1Heart Research Institute, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  • 2AF-SCREEN International Collaboration
  • 3University Heart Center Hamburg/German Center for Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Luebeck, Hamburg, Germany
  • 4Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
JAMA Cardiol. 2019;4(2):91-92. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2018.4335

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with approximately one-third of ischemic strokes, often debilitating or fatal. In up to 10%, AF is detected first at the time of stroke.1 Thromboprophylaxis with oral anticoagulant is very effective for prevention of cardioembolic stroke in AF,2 but screening strategies are needed to find clinically silent AF before stroke.

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