2023-06-23 14:52:10
Atrial fibrillation could be detected in people who are not aware of the cardiac arrhythmia by measuring the pulse on the handle of a shopping trolley. Researchers led by Ian Jones from Liverpool John Moores University published this on Friday Proposed Congress of the European Society of Cardiology.
“It’s possible to offer health checks to the masses without disrupting daily routines,” says Jones. In the test study, 39 people were found within two months who did not know that they had atrial fibrillation. “That’s 39 people at increased risk of stroke who got an appointment with a cardiologist,” reports Jones.
More than 40 million people around the world have atrial fibrillation, the most common cardiac arrhythmia. These are electrical stimulation impulses to the atria of the heart, its upper chambers. They can cause the ventricles of the heart to contract less efficiently. Around 800,000 people are affected in Germany.
Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke fivefold. However, many people only discover it after a stroke. Screening programs are therefore necessary to find those affected and to be able to treat them preventively with medication.
For the study by the British research team, ECG sensors that record the electrical impulses were placed in the handles of shopping trolleys in four supermarkets with pharmacies in Liverpool. 2155 adults used a shopping cart after being informed about the measurements. Atrial fibrillation was diagnosed in 59, 20 already knew about it. The median age of the 59 participants with atrial fibrillation was 74 years, and 43 percent were women.
However, the shopping ECG was still quite inaccurate: only a quarter to half of the people who were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation according to the sensor or manual pulse check actually had the cardiac arrhythmia. In about half of the actual cases, the sensor provided no clues.
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“Some adjustments are needed to make the system more accurate,” says Jones. But the fact that almost two-thirds of the customers surveyed were willing to use an ECG shopping cart shows that the concept is acceptable and should be tested in a larger study. The examination during normal shopping can help prevent strokes and thus save lives. “Immediate access to healthcare professionals is critical,” says Jones. It can explain the findings and, if necessary, arrange for further treatment. (pei)
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