Serial 7-Day Electrocardiogram Patch Screening for AF in High-Risk Older Women by the CHARGE-AF Score

Authors

• Jeffrey Y. Lin, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
• Joseph Larson, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
• Jenny Schoenberg, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
• Alejandra Sepulveda, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
• Lesley Tinker, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
• Matthew Wheeler, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
• Christine Albert, Department of Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA.
• JoAnn E. Manson, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
• Gretchen Wells, Department of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
• Lisa W. Martin, Department of Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
• Victor Froelicher, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
• Mike LaMonte, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.
• Charles Kooperberg, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA.
• Mark A. Hlatky, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
• Philip Greenland, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.
• Marcia L. Stefanick, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
• Marco V. Perez, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA. Electronic address: mvperez@stanford.edu.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

12-1-2022

Journal

JACC. Clinical electrophysiology

Volume

8

Issue

12

DOI

10.1016/j.jacep.2022.08.024

Keywords

Women’s Health Initiative; arrhythmias; atrial fibrillation; screening

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Asymptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with an increased risk of stroke. The yield of serial electrocardiographic (ECG) screening for AF is unknown. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of AF detected by serial, 7-day ECG patch screenings in older women identified as having an elevated risk of AF according to the CHARGE (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology)-AF clinical prediction score. METHODS: Postmenopausal women with a 5-year predicted risk of new-onset AF ≥5% according to CHARGE-AF were recruited from the ongoing WHISH (Women's Health Initiative Strong and Healthy) randomized trial of a physical activity intervention. Participants with AF at baseline by self-report or medical records review were excluded. Screening with 7-day ECG patch monitors was performed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months from study enrollment. RESULTS: On baseline monitoring, 2.5% of the cohort had AF detected, increasing to 3.7% by 6 months and 4.9% cumulatively by 12 months. Yield of patch screening was higher among participants with a higher (≥10%) CHARGE-AF score: 4.2% had AF detected at baseline, 5.9% at 6 months, and 7.2% at 12 months. Most participants with patch-identified AF never had a clinical diagnosis of AF (36 of 46 [78%]). CONCLUSIONS: Older women with an elevated CHARGE-AF score had a high prevalence of AF on 7-day ECG patch screening. Serial screening over 12 months substantially increased the detection of AF. These data can be useful in helping identify high-risk participants for enrollment in future studies of the management of asymptomatic AF.(Women's Health Initiative Silent Atrial Fibrillation Recording Study [WHISH STAR]; NCT05366803.).

APA Citation

Lin, Jeffrey Y.; Larson, Joseph; Schoenberg, Jenny; Sepulveda, Alejandra; Tinker, Lesley; Wheeler, Matthew; Albert, Christine; Manson, JoAnn E.; Wells, Gretchen; Martin, Lisa W.; Froelicher, Victor; LaMonte, Mike; Kooperberg, Charles; Hlatky, Mark A.; Greenland, Philip; Stefanick, Marcia L.; and Perez, Marco V., "Serial 7-Day Electrocardiogram Patch Screening for AF in High-Risk Older Women by the CHARGE-AF Score" (2022). GW Authored Works. Paper 2153.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/2153

Department

Medicine