Session Highlights
In this WHF Heart Café conversation, Amitava Banerjee (UCL) hosts Lis Neubeck and José Ramón González-Juanatey to unpack what’s new in atrial fibrillation (AF):
population screening, digital health (wearables, sensors), risk stratification, rapid anticoagulation to prevent stroke, and the real-world systems needed to make care integrated, equitable, and faster.
Key takeaways
- Stroke linkage: AF is a major stroke driver; public messaging like “feel your pulse” improves awareness and early suspicion.
- Confirm fast, treat fast: After AF suspicion, clinical confirmation and anticoagulation within days are critical to reduce early stroke risk.
- Risk tools evolving: Changes around sex criteria in risk scores highlight the need for equitable risk stratification, especially for women.
- Digital health with purpose: Wearables and novel sensors help identify AF, but data must feed a clear care pathway—not just detection.
- Hypertension first: If you invest in one “Best Buy,” make it hypertension detection and control—and prevent it via diet, salt reduction, and activity.
- Access & equity: Pharmacy-based screening, allied health workers, and community models improve reach in low-income and remote settings.
- Integrated, multidisciplinary care: GPs and nurses anchor long-term AF care; fast-track referral and e-consults cut delays, ED visits, and mortality.
- Adherence matters: Many AF patients juggle ~12 meds; deprescribing, shared decisions, and support improve NOAC adherence and outcomes.
Who should watch?
Cardiologists, GPs, nurses, pharmacists, policymakers, digital-health teams, and patient advocates working on AF screening, stroke prevention, hypertension programs, and integrated cardiovascular care.
AF Session – FAQ
- Why is rapid anticoagulation after AF detection so important?
- The first days to weeks carry the highest stroke risk. Fast confirmation and timely anticoagulation substantially reduce events.
- Do wearables solve AF detection for everyone?
- No. They can help, but yield is low in younger, low-risk groups. Use wearables selectively and link detection to a defined care pathway.
- What’s the smartest system investment?
- Hypertension detection/control and an integrated, multidisciplinary AF pathway (GP-led, nurse-supported, with fast-track cardiology input).
- How do we improve equity?
- Community and pharmacy screening, allied-health prescribers where allowed, culturally co-designed programs, and focused outreach to women and lower-SES groups