A study by the Medical Universities of Innsbruck and Munich has proven the effectiveness of smartphone screening using a pulse wave examination for possible atrial fibrillation. In the period from February 2020 to July 2021, the 5,551 participants saw a doubling of the diagnosis rate of atrial fibrillation requiring therapy. This effective “leap into the digital” of screening might possibly prevent some strokes in the future.
According to the study, the low-threshold technology and continuous self-screening are primarily responsible for the doubling of the diagnosis rate. Above all, constant screening over several weeks and months is extremely important for the precise diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, emphasized study leader Axel Bauer, director of the Innsbruck University Clinic for Internal Medicine III, in the APA interview. “A one-off ECG is often not effective, because atrial fibrillation can come and go and therefore go unnoticed with one-off measurements,” emphasized the cardiologist.
The digital strategy, for which an existing smartphone app was used, relies on absolute simplicity of use to increase the screening frequency. “In less than five minutes, anyone can check themselves, examine their pulse waves and evaluate them,” explained Bauer. “The everyday technology of the smartphone worked very well for the participants, who were on average 66 years old,” he added. According to Bauer, who carried out the study together with Munich colleagues, the study even revealed the phenomenon that older people measured more frequently than younger people.
Cooperation with health insurance companies
Many strokes happen “because atrial fibrillation goes undetected,” Bauer said. “In any case, there is great interest and hope that early detection of atrial fibrillation can improve the prognosis,” he said. You can then start blood thinning and effective therapies all the earlier.
In any case, Bauer is convinced of the flexible and large-scale application of this or similar digital screening strategies for the future. “We will continue with these positive results, which are also published in the specialist journal Nature Medicine have been published are now developing strategies for risk groups together with public bodies and health insurance companies,” said the expert. This connection already existed due to the study: “Together with a large health insurance company, we identified 67,488 people who were invited to participate”.
However, it is not primarily the technology that is important, but that people are involved and motivated in digital strategies, according to Bauer. “Above all, education is needed to convince people how important these measurements are for their own health,” emphasized Bauer.
