Early detection of occult atrial fibrillation and stroke prevention

Joseph Walker Keach, Steven M. Bradley, Mintu P. Turakhia, Thomas M. Maddox

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a very common arrhythmia and significantly increases stroke risk. This risk can be mitigated with oral anticoagulation, but AF is often asymptomatic, or occult, preventing timely detection and treatment. Accordingly, occult AF may cause stroke before it is clinically diagnosed. Currently, guidelines for the early detection and treatment of occult AF are limited. This review addresses recent advancements in occult AF detection methods, identification of populations at high risk for occult AF, the treatment of occult AF with oral anticoagulation, as well as ongoing trials that may answer critically important questions regarding occult AF screening.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1097-1102
Number of pages6
JournalHeart
Volume101
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2015

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