Simple Algorithm May Predict Afib

By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Published: November 22, 2010 Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Action Points   Note that this study demonstrates the feasibility of using a clinical prediction tool to help find those at risk of atrial fibrillation. Point out that the ultimate usefulness of being able to identify a high-risk population may promote the development of drugs to prevent atrial fibrillation. Using simple clinical variables may produce a reliable estimate of individuals' absolute risk of atrial fibrillation (Afib), researchers reported. The seven risk-factor algorithm accounted for 63.6% of the Afib risk in a U.S. cohort of more than 5,400 whites and African Americans, according to Susan R. Heckbert, MD, PhD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues. The same risk algorithm applied to a separate cohort of over 4,000 men and women from Iceland explained 47.0% of the population-attributable risk of Afib, Heckbert and co-authors reported in the Nov. 22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine./.../