Systematic and opportunistic screening for AF increase the rate of detection of new cases compared with routine practice .
While both approaches have a comparable effect on the overall AF diagnosis rate , the cost of systematic screening is significantly more than that of opportunistic screening from the perspective of the health service provider .
BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality .
Screening for AF in asymptomatic patients has been proposed as a way of reducing the burden of the disease by detecting people who would benefit from prophylactic anticoagulation therapy prior to the onset of symptoms .
However , for screening to be an effective intervention it must improve the detection of AF and provide benefit for those who are detected earlier as a result of screening .
OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this review was to examine whether screening programmes increase the detection of new cases of AF compared to routine practice .
The secondary objectives were to identify which combination of screening strategy and patient population is most effective , as well as assessing any safety issues associated with screening , its acceptability within the target population and the costs involved .
Prevalence, incidence and lifetime risk of atrial fibrillation: the Rotterdam study.
AIMS We aim ed to investigate the prevalence and incidence of atrial fibrillation ( AF )  in a large European population -based study . METHODS AND RESULTS The study is part of the Rotterdam study , a population -based prospect i ve cohort study among subjects aged 55 years and above . The prevalence at baseline was assessed in 6808 participants .  Incidence of AF was investigated during a mean follow-up period of 6.9 years in 6432 persons . We identified 376 prevalent and 437 incident cases . Overall prevalence was 5.5 % , rising from 0.7 % in the age group 55 - 59 years to 17.8 % in those aged 85 years and above . The overall incidence rate was 9.9/1000 person-years . The incidence rate in the age group 55 - 59 years was 1.1/1000 person-years , rose to 20.7/1000 person-years in the age group 80 - 84 years and stabilized in those aged 85 years and above . Prevalence and incidence were higher in men than in women . The lifetime risk to develop AF at the age of 55 years was 23.8 % in men and 22.2 % in women . CONCLUSION In this prospect i ve study in a European population , the prevalence and incidence of AF increased with age and were higher in men than in women . The high lifetime risk to develop AF was similar to North American epidemiological data
Systematic and opportunistic screening for AF increase the rate of detection of new cases compared with routine practice .
While both approaches have a comparable effect on the overall AF diagnosis rate , the cost of systematic screening is significantly more than that of opportunistic screening from the perspective of the health service provider .
BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality .
Screening for AF in asymptomatic patients has been proposed as a way of reducing the burden of the disease by detecting people who would benefit from prophylactic anticoagulation therapy prior to the onset of symptoms .
However , for screening to be an effective intervention it must improve the detection of AF and provide benefit for those who are detected earlier as a result of screening .
OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this review was to examine whether screening programmes increase the detection of new cases of AF compared to routine practice .
The secondary objectives were to identify which combination of screening strategy and patient population is most effective , as well as assessing any safety issues associated with screening , its acceptability within the target population and the costs involved .