Diagnostic accuracy of a new algorithm to detect atrial fibrillation in a home blood pressure monitor

The authors evaluated a new algorithm for detecting atrial fibrillation (AF) using a home blood pressure monitor. Three serial blood pressure values were measured by the monitor in 16 patients with AF and 20 patients with sinus rhythm. The authors defined "monitor AF in irregular pulse peak (IPP) 25" as follows: (1) IPP: |interval of pulse peak - the average of the interval of the pulse peak| ≥ the average of the interval of the pulse peak ×25%; (2) irregular heart beat: beats of IPP ≥ total pulse ×20%; and (3) monitor AF: two or more irregular heart beats of the three blood pressure measurements. Cutoff IPP values were set at 20% (IPP20) and 15% (IPP15). The monitor's AF specificity was 1.0 in IPP25, IPP20, and IPP15, and its sensitivity was 0.88 in IPP25, 0.94 in IPP20, and 1.0 in IPP15. The new algorithm had high diagnostic accuracy for detecting AF and a low false-positive rate.