Cost-effectiveness and screening performance of ECG handheld machine in a population screening programme: The Belgian Heart Rhythm Week screening programme

Aims Overall, 40% of patients with atrial fibrillation are asymptomatic. The usefulness and cost-effectiveness of atrial fibrillation screening programmes are debated. We evaluated whether an atrial fibrillation screening programme with a handheld electrocardiogram (ECG) machine in a population-wide cohort has a high screening yield and is cost-effective. Methods We used a Markov-model based modelling analysis on 1000 hypothetical individuals who matched the Belgian Heart Rhythm Week screening programme. Subgroup analyses of subjects >= 65 and >= 75 years old were performed. Screening was performed with one-lead ECG handheld machine Omron (R) HeartScan HCG-801. Results In both overall population and subgroups, the use of the screening procedure diagnosed a consistently higher number of diagnosed atrial fibrillation than not screening. In the base-case scenario, the screening procedure resulted in 106.6 more atrial fibrillation patient-years, resulting in three fewer strokes, 10 more life years and five more quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). The number needed-to-screen (NNS) to avoid one stroke was 361. In subjects >= 65 years old, we found 80.8 more atrial fibrillation patient-years, resulting in three fewer strokes, four more life-years and five more QALYs. The NNS to avoid one stroke was 354. Similar results were obtained in subjects >= 75 years old, with a NNS to avoid one stroke of 371. In the overall population, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for any gained QALY showed that the screening procedure was cost-effective in all groups. Conclusions In a population-wide screening cohort, the use of a handheld ECG machine to identify subjects with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation was cost-effective in the general population, as well as in subjects >= 65 and subjects >= 75 years old

Cardiopoietic cell therapy for advanced ischemic heart failure: results at 39 weeks of the prospective, randomized, double blind, sham-controlled CHART-1 clinical trial

Cardiopoietic cells, produced through cardiogenic conditioning of patients' mesenchymal stem cells, have shown preliminary efficacy. The Congestive Heart Failure Cardiopoietic Regenerative Therapy (CHART-1) trial aimed to validate cardiopoiesis-based biotherapy in a larger heart failure cohort

Atrial fibrillation as a first manifestation of the Brugada syndrome

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Value of electrophysiological study in young patients with normal heart suffering from paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias

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Usefulness of electrophysiological study in young patients with normal heart presenting paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias

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Feasibility of coronary sinus catheterisation via femoral approach with standard non steerable electrode-catheter

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Long-term follow-up may allow identification of cardiomyopathy in young patients suffering from malignant ventricular arrhythmias

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Interference between an implantable defibrillator and magnetic resonance imaging

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Severe interference between an implantable defibrillator and magnetic resonance imaging

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