Does screening with ECG detect more cases of atrial fibrillation or result in better health outcomes than screening focused on pulse palpation in asymptomatic older adults?
There is currently insufficient evidence to show that ECG screening for atrial fibrillation detects more cases than pulse palpation or improves clinical outcomes in asymptomatic older adults.
Although screening with ECG can detect previously unknown cases of atrial fibrillation, it has not been shown to detect more cases than screening focused on pulse palpation. Treatments for atrial fibrillation reduce the risk of stroke and all-cause mortality and increase the risk of bleeding, but trials have not assessed whether treatment of screen-detected asymptomatic older adults results in better health outcomes than treatment after detection by usual care or after symptoms develop.
Jonas et al. (Tue,) studied this question.