Canadian researchers believe they have found a better way of identifying
patients who have an irregular heartbeat, which is a leading cause of strokes.
And the key is new technology – a wearable device that allows patients to be monitored for prolonged periods.
Known medically as atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat is one of the
most treatable risk factors for strokes. The condition causes blood to pool
temporarily in the heart, potentially leading to the formation of clots that can
travel to the brain and block blood flow to part of the vital organ.
“That means one in six patients who underwent 30 days of monitoring were found
to have a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation that otherwise would have gone
undetected and it resulted in a significant increase in patients receiving
treatment with stronger anti-clotting medications for stroke prevention,”
“With early detection and treatment, we hope that more strokes and deaths can be
prevented,” he said. Atrial fibrillation is often responsible for causing the
most severe strokes, which are associated with greater cost to the health-care
system in terms of long hospital stays, nursing-home admissions and treating the
resulting disabilities.
