Can we improve the early detection of atrial fibrillation in a stroke unit? Detection rate of a monitor with integrated detection software.

Introduction: It is unknown whether monitors that include atrial fibrillation recognition software (AF-RS) increase the rate of early atrial fibrillation (AF) detection in acute stroke. We aimed to evaluate the AF detection rate of an AF-RS monitor and compare it with standard monitoring.

Methods: This was a retrospective, single-centre observational study conducted on consecutive patients with acute transient ischaemic attack or brain infarction attended in a stroke unit (SU) with six beds.