Project Content

“DIGITAL, RISK-BASED SCREENING FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY” project is an EU-funded consortium including 25 partner from academia and industry. AFFECT-EU`s major goal is the development of a risk-based, accurate, and ready for implementation atrial fibrillation screening algorithm, using digital devices, for early AF detection in the community. AFFECT-EU will fill in the AF screening knowledge gaps by integrating information from independent studies entering the project. These data will be used to implement a risk-based AF screening approach and to provide evidence on the superiority of AF screening using a robust community screening strategy for reducing AF-related morbidity and mortality.

The Project

For the development of a risk-based screening strategy, AFFECT-EU’s methodology will consist of

• • A confirmatory part using well-powered, large-scale clinical trial information as it becomes available to define the currently best AF screening strategy for implementation. We will also integrate results from multiple smaller trials/studies across Europe.
  • An exploratory part with a broader search for markers for risk stratification in the population to further improve AF screening. Since Nt-proBNP is currently the most promising biomarker for risk refinement, we will measure it in all studies with available blood samples. In an orchestrated approach, we will thus combine the abundance of locally existing data from high quality cohorts and trials with the aim to maximise access and jointly explore data to achieve exclusively robust results during the funding period.
  • A patient level meta-analysis, in which results of the conceptually similar trials will be aggregated as they become available to increase statistical power and provide robust point estimates.
  • Cost-benefit analyses are a mandatory part that accompanies and guides the development and refinement of the risk-based screening algorithm and also serves to evaluate inequalities. Health economics and cost-benefit analyses
  • Dissemination, exploitation, commincation and implementation at scale, e.g. EHRA (ESC), AF-SCREEN) and include multifaceted stakeholder’s inputs.

To read more about the programme, please visit – here

Contact Details

Cambridge PI: Professor Jonathan Mant

Start and End Date

January 2020 -December 2022