Why the study?
It remains unknown whether silent AF carries the same thromboembolic risk as symptomatic AF and whether these asymptomatic episodes warrant anticoagulation therapy and rhythm management.
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Design
Review
New technologies may enable silent AF screening but require caution on thromboembolic risk; leaves open optimal management strategies.
Silent atrial fibrillation (AF) is an asymptomatic atrial arrhythmia that can be diagnosed by chance during a systematic electrocardiogram, an external Holter, or from implanted cardiac devices. There is a significant body of the literature around silent AF, yet it remains largely underdiagnosed in everyday clinical practice. Meanwhile, new diagnostic tools have significantly improved the detection of silent AF, creating a potential for mass screening via new technologies and the promise of a major step forward in e-health progress. However, it is not yet known whether silent AF is associated with the same thromboembolic risk as symptomatic AF, and whether these asymptomatic and often short-lasting episodes therefore require anticoagulation therapy and rhythm management.
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Guénancia et al. (2020) studied this question.
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