Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32620555›Full record

ArticleHeart (British Cardiac Society)2021

Continuous electrocardiography for detecting atrial fibrillation beyond 1 year after stroke in primary care.

Louise Feldborg Lyckhage, Morten Lock Hansen, Jens Christian Toft, Susanne Lis Larsen, Bente Brendorp, Ari Mohammad Ali, Troels Wienecke

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Heart (British Cardiac Society), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 48% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Unravelling the role of electrocardiogram changes and ejection fraction in ischaemic stroke outcomes.The Egyptian heart journal : (EHJ) : official bulletin of the Egyptian Society of Cardiology · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Louise Feldborg LyckhageDepartment of Neurology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark llyckhage@hotmail.com llyckhage@hotmail.com.ORCID 0000-0003-4866-1169
Morten Lock HansenDepartment of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev and Gentofte, Hellerup, Denmark.
Jens Christian ToftDepartment of Cardiology and Endocrinology, Slagelse Hospital, Slagelse, Denmark.
Susanne Lis LarsenBorup and Viby General Practice, General practice in Region Zealand, Borup, Denmark.
Bente BrendorpDepartment of Cardiology, North Zealand Hospital, Hilleroed, Denmark.
Ari Mohammad AliDepartment of Neurology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark.
Troels WieneckeDepartment of Neurology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark.
Zealand University Hospital · DKGentofte Hospital · DKRegion Zealand · DKSlagelse Hospital · DKUniversity of Copenhagen · DK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

background and purposeThe diagnostic benefit of using continuous ECG (cECG) for poststroke atrial fibrillation (AF) screening in a primary care setting is unclear. We aimed to assess the diagnostic yield from screening patients who previously had a stroke with a 7-day Holter monitor.

methodsPatients older than 49 years, naive to AF, with an ischaemic stroke over 1 year before enrolment were included. In a primary care setting, all patients were screened for AF using pulse palpation, 12-lead ECG and 7-day Holter monitoring. Further, NT-proBNP was determined at baseline.

results7-day Holter monitoring uncovered AF in 17 of 366 patients (4.6% (95% CI 2.7 to 7.3)). The number needed to screen was 22 patients (14-37). 12-lead ECG uncovered AF in 3 patients (0.82% (95% CI 0.17 to 2.4)), and 122 patients had irregular pulse during pulse palpation (33.5% (95% CI 28.7 to 38.2)). When using 7-day Holter monitoring as reference standard, the sensitivity of pulse palpation and 12-lead ECG was 47% (95% CI 23% to 72%) and 18% (95% CI 4% to 43%). High levels (≥400 pg/mL) of NT-proBNP versus low levels (≤200 pg/mL) were not associated with AF in the univariate analysis nor when adjusted for age (OR 2.4 (95% CI 0.5 to 8.4) and 1.6 (95% CI 0.3 to 6.0)).

conclusionsA relevant proportion of patients with stroke more than 1 year before inclusion were diagnosed with AF through 7-day Holter monitoring. Given the low sensitivities of pulse palpation and 12-lead ECG, additional cECG may be considered during poststroke primary care follow-up.

Indexed as

AgedAtrial FibrillationBrain IschemiaElectrocardiography, AmbulatoryFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHeart RateHumansMaleMass ScreeningPrimary Health CareProspective StudiesTime Factorsatrial fibrillationelectrocardiographyprimary carestroke

Identifiers

PMID32620555
PMCPMC8005802
OpenAlexW3038384736

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.