title: Prevalence of unknown and untreated arrhythmias in an older outpatient population screened by wireless long-term recording ECG.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  With longer life expectancies, the prevalence of arrhythmias is increasing; thus, there is a need for new methods to screen the older outpatient population. This population-based study describes the prevalence of arrhythmias in 200 outpatients aged ≥66 years. We also investigated the feasibility of wireless long-term recording (LTR) using the ECG-BodyKom(®).
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred elderly persons aged 66-93 years were recruited from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in 2010-2013, and data were collected via wireless LTR ECG-BodyKom.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Screening with the LTR ECG revealed that persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) occurred in 10% of the outpatient population aged ≥66 years. Paroxysmal AF occurred in 5.5% of the population, with no difference between younger (60-80 years) and older (>80 years) elderly participants. Furthermore, all patients with paroxysmal AF had a CHA2DS2VASc score of ≥2 and were therefore potential candidates for follow-up and medical examination. LTR ECG-BodyKom can be considered a feasible method to screen for arrhythmias in older outpatient populations. This simple method requires little of the user, and there was high satisfaction with the equipment and a good overall experience wearing it.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increasing occurrence of arrhythmias in the older population, as well as the high number of untreated cases of arrhythmias such as persistent AF and paroxysmal AF, poses a challenge for health care. Therefore, it is essential to develop effective strategies for their prevention and treatment.
authors: Department of Health, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona; Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors: Terese
authors: T
authors: Lindberg
authors: Department of Health, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona.
authors: Doris M
authors: DM
authors: Bohman
authors: Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors: Sölve
authors: S
authors: Elmståhl
authors: Department of Health, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona.
authors: Claes
authors: C
authors: Jogréus
authors: Department of Health, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona.
authors: Johan
authors: J
authors: Sanmartin Berglund
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: arrhythmia; older people; prevalence; wireless long-term ECG