Impact of abnormal ambulatory ECG findings when screening for atrial fibrillation in primary care: a qualitative study among participants of the PATCH-AF trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aim

European cardiovascular guidelines recommend systematic atrial fibrillation (AF) screening in community-dwelling high-risk patients. However, little is known about the impact of abnormal screening findings, including AF and non-AF incidental findings on the target population. This gap highlights the need to assess both the benefits and potential harms from patients' perspectives to fully understand the impact of AF screening. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore patients' experiences with AF screening among those who received abnormal findings from ambulatory ECG monitoring.

Design

We conducted a qualitative study using semistructured interviews, analysed thematically. Participants in the PATCH-AF trial, based in Amsterdam primary care, were purp

SUBMITTER: Brik T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12306208 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature