Does screening for atrial fibrillation improve health outcomes?
While screening detects more AF and anticoagulation reduces stroke and mortality, there is a critical evidence gap regarding the benefits and harms of anticoagulation specifically in screen-detected populations.
Although screening can detect more cases of unknown AF, evidence regarding effects on health outcomes is limited. Anticoagulation was associated with lower risk of first stroke and mortality but with increased risk of major bleeding, although estimates for this harm are imprecise; no trials assessed benefits and harms of anticoagulation among screen-detected populations.
Kahwati et al. (Tue,) studied this question.