SMARTS- project
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Smartphone Atrial fibrillation testing post stroke
IRAS ID
299122
Contact name
Sadia Khan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart rhythm disturbance. Individuals with AF have a five-fold increased risk of developing strokes. AF can be persistent or paroxysmal (intermittent). People with AF can be unaware that they have the condition as they may not display any symptoms.
Many patients with undiagnosed AF present to hospital with a stroke. Strokes are debilitating, cause significant permanent disability and are a burden to the healthcare system The AF can remain undiagnosed due to paroxysmal nature of the rhythm and the patient being asymptomatic. AF has been shown to account for up to 25% of ischaemic stroke patients presenting to hospital. People who have AF related strokes are at risk of further strokes without treatment for the AF in the form of a blood thinner (known as anticoagulation). Appropriate anticoagulation can reduce risk of a further stroke by 64% and mortality by 25%.
In an ideal world, we would want to monitor patients with electrocardiograms (ECGs) continuously to detect AF, but this requires invasive treatment. As more people have smartphones and smartwatches, this provides us with opportunities to monitor patients for longer and more frequently and ultimately, diagnose AF earlier. We propose to use a CE marked smart phone App (Fibricheck) that uses photoplethysmography, which measures pulse pressure signals from blood pressure pulses travelling along arterial blood vessels. It therefore can discern irregularities in pulse pressure signals that would be present as result of AF.
This App has been validated in previous studies for the detection of AF. The App is supported by almost all smartphones and has cross platform compatibility. It is easy to use for both patients and clinicians. It is non-invasive.
The ability of this App to detect AF in post stroke patients will be analysed. Patient experience and satisfaction with using this App will also be assessed.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/PR/0899
Date of REC Opinion
5 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion