Using a Personal Heart Rhythm Monitor to Diagnose Paroxsymal Atrial Fibrillation in the Community

Overview

This propsective study aims to compare the diagnostic yield of a Personal Heart Rhythm Monitor (PHRM) with an automated cardiac event recorder (ACER) to detect paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation PAF). The investigators hypothesise that the PHRM, used intermittently for 3 months, will detect significantly more cases of PAF than the ACER, used continuously for one week. A case-control sub-study will identify individuals with confirmed PAF, and matched individuals with no evidence of PAF, to identify potential serum biomarkers for PAF. A further case-control study will assess markers of left atrial function in patients with PAF and their matched controls. Another case-control sub-study will determine the significance of frequent Atrial Premature Beats (APBs) in the development of AF over a one year period.

Patients with suspected AF will be initially referred to a community-based, nurse-led Arrhythmia clinic by their General Practitioners over a 15-month period. All patients will be issued with a one week ACER (the 'R. Test 4 Evolution'), seen as the 'best-practice' investigation for this population group. Participants will also be issued with a PHRM for three months. They will be instructed to take regular twice-daily, 30 second recordings with additional recordings in the event of relevant symptoms. They will return the ACER after one week and the PHRM after 3 months. A subgroup of participants (target recruitment number = 100) will undergo transthoracic echocardiography. A 40ml venous blood sample will also be taken. Another small subgroup (target recruitment = 20) will be asked to continue twice-daily recordings using the PHRM for a further nine months and will be issued with a repeat one week ACER at study completion.