[Clinical-epidemiological characteristics of the atrial fibrillation in patients 65 years of age or older diagnosed in primary care.].

Objective: The identification of atrial fibrillation in older patients who come to Primary Care consultations is a topic of interest that has been scarcely studied. The objective of this work was to estimate the frequency of new cases of atrial fibrillation and to analyze the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of patients 65 years of age or older, detected in Primary Care in Spain.

Methods: An observational, descriptive, national, multicenter study was carried out in 48 health centers, in which 218 doctors and 101 Primary Care nurses recruited 7,068 patients, who underwent an arterial pulse and an electrocardiogram.

Opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation versus detecting symptomatic patients aged 65 years and older: A cluster-controlled clinical trial.

Objective: The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of opportunistic screening through pulse palpation in the early detection of atrial fibrillation in subjects aged≥65 years versus detection through an active search for patients with symptoms and/or complications and sequelae associated.

Material And Methods: This was a cluster randomized controlled trial performed in 48 primary care centers of the Spanish National Healthcare System. A total of 368 physicians and nurses were randomized.

Opportunistic detection of atrial fibrillation in subjects aged 65 years or older in primare care: a randomised clinical trial of efficacy. DOFA-AP study protocol.

Background: Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend using peripheral blood pulse measuring as a screening test for Atrial Fibrillation. However, there is no adequate evidence supporting the efficacy of such procedure in primary care clinical practice. This paper describes a study protocol designed to verify whether early opportunistic screening for Atrial Fibrillation by measuring blood pulse is more effective than regular practice in subjects aged 65 years attending primary care centers.