Frail patients with atrial fibrillation who were switched to a newer NOAC agent had more bleeding than those left on older vitamin K antagonists, without any benefit in terms of thromboembolic events.
The SHOPS-AF study used supermarket carts fitted with ECG sensors to detect atrial fibrillation among shoppers in a novel public health initiative. While the method demonstrated a significant number of false positives and negatives, it identified 39 previously undiagnosed cases, prompting refinement
E-Mail
IMAGE: Age-adjusted incidence rates per 100,00 in 1990 and 2017 in all countries studied. view more
Credit: European Heart Journal
The wealthiest countries in Europe have higher death rates from atrial fibrillation than the least wealthy and these death rates are increasing more rapidly than incidence rates, according to the first analysis of its kind published in the
European Heart Journal [1] today (Tuesday). The study also found that women who developed the condition were more likely than men to die from it in all 20 European countries studied.
The researchers believe the difference between countries could be due to lifestyle factors, such as increased obesity and alcohol consumption in wealthier countries, or what is known as the survivor effect , where people live for longer due to better treatments for other diseases such as cancer, leaving greater numbers of more elderly people to die from diseases of the heart or circulatory system, such as atrial