Twenty-eight day Holter monitoring is poorly tolerated and insensitive for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation detection in cryptogenic stroke

H T Tu; S Spence; J M Kalman; S M Davis

doi:10.1111/imj.12410

Twenty-eight day Holter monitoring is poorly tolerated and insensitive for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation detection in cryptogenic stroke

Intern Med J. 2014 May;44(5):505-8. doi: 10.1111/imj.12410.

Authors

H T Tu¹, S Spence, J M Kalman, S M Davis

Affiliation

¹ University Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Neurology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 24816310
DOI: 10.1111/imj.12410

Abstract

This pilot study in a prospective cohort of 20 cryptogenic stroke patients showed that a significant proportion has paroxysmal atrial fibrillation undetected by 24-h Holter monitoring. However, longer monitoring with 28-day Holter was poorly tolerated and still insufficiently sensitive for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation detection. Further studies are urgently needed to elucidate the optimal timing, method and duration of cardiac rhythm monitoring following ischaemic stroke.

Keywords: Holter monitoring; atrial fibrillation; diagnosis; screening; stroke.

Publication types

Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

Aged
Asymptomatic Diseases
Atrial Fibrillation / complications
Atrial Fibrillation / diagnosis*
Atrial Fibrillation / epidemiology
Atrial Premature Complexes / diagnosis
Atrial Premature Complexes / epidemiology
Brain Ischemia / epidemiology
Brain Ischemia / etiology*
Brain Ischemia / prevention & control
Cardiovascular Diseases / epidemiology
Comorbidity
Diabetes Mellitus / epidemiology
Electrocardiography, Ambulatory* / psychology
False Negative Reactions
Feasibility Studies
Female
Humans
Hyperlipidemias / epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Acceptance of Health Care*
Pilot Projects
Prospective Studies
Recurrence
Sampling Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity