The aim of this project is to study the performance of the two most commonly used Implantable Cardiac Monitors in detecting AF episodes and explore how the new connectivity can empower patients and improve patient care.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common abnormal heart rhythm disturbance, affecting 1-2 million people in the UK. The irregular heartbeat caused by AF can make the heart pump blood less efficiently. As a result, AF significantly increases the risk of having a stroke, heart failure and dementia. However, a significantly proportion of people have no symptoms, and they may be only found to be in AF after having a stroke. Therefore, diagnosis largely relies on accurate electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. AF episodes can be unpredictable and easily missed unless continuous ECG monitoring is undertaken. Pacemakers can continuously record the heart's electrical activity and detect AF with a high degree of confidence. However, they are invasive and rely on electrical wires implanted inside the heart, and hence less suited to be used as primary monitoring devices. To overcome these difficulties, implantable cardiac monitors (ICM) have been designed to be placed under the skin. The new generation of ICMs can now be injected under the skin. Moreover, they connect with the patient's smartphone and transmit recordings. Despite these significant improvements, their ability to reliably capture AF has never been tested against pacemakers. The aim of this project is to study the performance of the two commonly used ICMs in detecting AF episodes and explore how the new connectivity can empower patients and improve patient care. The investigators plan to inject an ICM in 30 patients with AF and pre-existing pacemaker. After a period of 6 months, the investigators will compare how many episodes were detected in each device. With the information collected the investigators will try to understand the pitfalls in the current technology and develop strategies to improve it. Accurate, minimally invasive long-term ECG monitor can have far reaching benefits for patients, both in routine clinical practice and research.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
6
Confirm Rx implanted in patients with atrial fibrillation detected on their cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED)
Reveal LINQ implanted in patients with atrial fibrillation detected on their cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED)
John Radcliffe Hospital
Oxford, United Kingdom
Assessment of Performance of Confirm Rx ICM and Reveal LINQ ICM in Detecting AF Episodes in Comparison to CIED
To assess the performance of the Confirm Rx™ ICM and Reveal LINQ™ ICM in detecting clinically significant AF episodes (episodes longer than 6 minutes) in comparison to CIED (gold standard). Confirm Rx and Reveal LINQ™ ICM sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value will be calculated for AF episodes longer than 6 minutes.
Time frame: During follow-up (6 months)
Comparison of Changes in R-wave Amplitude Following Implantation in Both ICMs.
A comparison will be made between the percentage of change in R-wave amplitudes between both ICMs.
Time frame: During follow-up (6 months)
To Compare the Transmission Success Rate of Both Devices.
The percentage of successful transmission in both ICMs will be calculated.
Time frame: During follow-up (6 months)
To Compare the Number of Patient-activated Recordings That Contains Symptoms.
The percentage of patient-activated recordings with symptoms attributed to those episodes will be calculated.
Time frame: During follow-up (6 months)
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