A Fib Clinic of the Future Using KardiaPro Platform for Chronic Care of Patients With AF After Ablation Procedure

Overview

Pulmonary vein isolation is a widely used strategy for the treatment of patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation. After successful pulmonary vein isolation (no atrial fibrillation on transtelephonic rhythm recordings for 3 months following ablation), heart rhythm is not routinely monitored. The goal of this study is to determine whether the Kardia Mobile device detects AF at a different rate compared to our standard of care. The study also hopes to understand how this Kardia Mobile device and Kardia Pro platform affect health care utilization and patient anxiety.

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is a widely used strategy for the treatment of patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF). After ablation, patients are usually discharged with transtelephonic monitor. Patients are encouraged to send their electrophysiologist transmissions of their heart rhythm at least once a week or anytime they have symptoms. After 3-4 months of remote monitoring, patients come for their first visit after the ablation. At this visit, the electrophysiologist reviews the heart rhythm transmissions since the ablation and based on the findings, decisions are made regarding anticoagulation or antiarrhythmic drug therapy. If all transmissions show sinus rhythm and the patient is doing well, he or she is normally followed clinically based on symptoms without any rhythm monitors. Usually, these patients follow up in another 6 months with an ECG at the time of the visit with the caring electrophysiologist. During these 6 months, patients might experience palpitations or recurrent arrhythmias. These episodes usually trigger phone encounters with the provider and this can trigger additional testing. Sometimes it might lead to clinic or emergency room encounters. Kardia Mobile is an FDA approved device that allows one lead ECG recording for 30 seconds using the patient's smart phone. The device has a built-in algorithm that detects AF. KardiaPro is a secure platform that allows the physician to access the patient's recording at any time. The platform can also be programmed to send a notification to the healthcare provider if AF is detected by the software. The goal of our study is to determine whether detection of AF with Kardia Mobile is different than the current standard approach and to assess the value of using Kardia Mobile and the KardiaPro platform in decreasing health care utilization and reducing patient anxiety following AF ablation.