Atrial Fibrillation Screening

Screening for atrial fibrillation is considered a potentially effective strategy for preventing strokes at an early stage. But how great is the actual benefit in clinical care? A recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials summarizes the currently available RCT data on hard clinical endpoints for the first time. The results show that screening programs have a statistically significant but moderate benefit in the combined outcome of stroke, systemic embolism and cardiovascular mortality.