Rationale and Design of the Randomized Controlled Trial of Intensive Versus Usual ECG Screening for Atrial Fibrillation in Elderly Chinese by an Automated ECG System in Community Health Centers in Shanghai(AF-CATCH)

Objective:The randomized controlled trial(ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02990741)will investigate whether more frequent electrocardiographic(ECG)recordings and analyses with an automated ECG system would improve detection of atrial fibrillation compared with a single annual ECG screen in elderly Chinese in community health centers.Design:Men and women(≥65 years)will be randomized into intensive(n=3500)and usual(n=3500)screening groups,and within the intensive screening group into intensive screening(n=2625)and more intensive screening(n=875)subgroups.ECG recordings will be performed with an automated ECG analysis system(AliveCor heart monitor)at 1 year in the usual screening group,at 3,6,9,and 12 months in the intensive screening subgroup,and at 1,2,3,and 4 weeks and 3,6,9,and 12 months in the more intensive screening subgroup.The primary outcome is the detection rate of atrial fibrillation between the usual screening group and the intensive screening group.Sample size estimation was based on a projected detection rate of atrial fibrillation of 2.0% by a single ECG recording at 12 months,an improvement of 50% with more frequent ECG recordings,α=0.05,power of 80%,and a one-sided test.Conclusions:The trial will provide evidence on the clinical effectiveness of more frequent ECG recordings by a handheld automated analysis system in the detection of atrial fibrillation.

Alcohol consumption in relation to the incidence of atrial fibrillation in an elderly Chinese population

BACKGROUND Alcohol consumption is a known modifiable risk factor for atrial fibrillation.The association,however,might differ according to gender.We investigated gender-specific associations between alcohol consumption and incident atrial fibrillation in an elderly Chinese population.METHODS Our study participants were elderly residents(≥65 years)recruited from five community health centers in the urban area of Shanghai(n=6,618).Alcohol intake was classified as never drinkers and current light-to-moderate(<40 g/day)and heavy drinkers(≥40 g/day).Atrial fibrillation was detected by a 30-s single-lead electrocardiography(ECG,AliveCor®Heart Monitor)and further evaluated with a regular 12-lead ECG.RESULTS During a median of 2.1 years(interquartile range:2.0−2.2)follow-up,the incidence rate of atrial fibrillation was 1.10%in all study participants.It was slightly but non-significantly higher in men(n=2849)than women(n=3769,1.30%vs.0.96%,P=0.19)and in current drinkers(n=793)than never drinkers(n=5825,1.64%vs.1.03%,P=0.12).In both unadjusted and adjusted analyses,there was interaction between sex and current alcohol intake in relation to the incidence of atrial fibrillation(P<0.0001).After adjustment for confounding factors,current drinkers had a significantly higher incidence rate of atrial fibrillation than never drinkers in women(12.96%[7/54]vs.0.78%[29/3715],adjusted odds ratio[OR]=10.25,95%confidence interval[CI]:3.54−29.67,P<0.0001),but not in men(0.81%[6/739]vs.1.47%[31/2110],OR=0.62,95%CI:0.25−1.51,P=0.29).CONCLUSIONS Our study showed a significant association between alcohol intake and the incidence of atrial fibrillation in elderly Chinese women,but not men.