DIGITAL, RISK-BASED SCREENING FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

DIGITAL, RISK-BASED SCREENING FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an increasingly common arrhythmia in the aging European population. Its prevalence will more than double by the year 2050 affecting 5% of EU women and men aged 65 years. AF carries a high risk of stroke, heart failure, and dementia, which result in a significant loss of quality-adjusted life years and high mortality. The EU guiding principles for active aging (no. 17468/12) recommend disease prevention to maximise healthy life, and early detection of AF is recommended by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Nonetheless, to date, a risked-based screening strategy is lacking. AFFECT-EU’s major goal is the development of a risk-based, accurate, and ready for implementation AF screening algorithm, using digital devices, for early AF detection in the community. For this objective we will (1) Develop a risk-based AF screening algorithm, by combining the available information from the largest outcome trials (Danish LOOP, STROKESTOP, SAFER) and multiple screening studies across Europe (Ntotal>100,000) including health modifiers and biomarkers; (2) Refine the stratification of high-risk populations in a personalised approach through exploration of distinct digital screening methods and multiple health determinants in deeply-phenotyped population cohorts; (3) Validate the AFFECT-EU risked-based screening recommendations in a meta-analysis of European and world-wide studies; (4) Demonstrate cost benefits and acceptability of AF screening across different European healthcare systems; (5) Identify the AF screening potential to be taken up by differing healthcare systems; (6) Foster the dissemination of results and adoption of the risked-based AF screening algorithm in the ESC (an AFFECT-EU partner) guidelines. AFFECT-EU will develop the first targeted, risk-based AF screening algorithm, and thus contribute to the reduction of AF-related health inequities, morbidity and mortality in Europe.