A blood pressure monitoring device that can detect atrial fibrillation is being recommended for use by NHS clinicians.
New medical technologies guidance has been published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) supporting the use of the WatchBP Home A by primary care professionals.
The device, manufactured by Microlife, detects asymptomatic atrial fibrillation during the measurement of blood pressure, enabling preventative treatment to be given to reduce the incidence of atrial fibrillation-related stroke.
The guidance also recommends that WatchBP Home A should be considered for use in people with suspected hypertension or those being screened for hypertension in primary care.
Hypertension is defined by a consistent blood pressure reading on different occasions of 140/90mmHg or higher. If left untreated, the condition increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Atrial fibrillation is a heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate and is the most common heart rhythm disturbance. It can lead to dizziness, shortness of breath and palpitations, but some people have no symptoms and so are not aware that their heart rate is irregular.
Commenting on the recommendation, Professor Carole Longson, director of the NICE Centre for Health Technology Evaluation, said: “We are delighted to publish this new guidance supporting the use of Watch BP Home A for picking up atrial fibrillation while blood pressure is being measured in some people. The evidence considered by the independent Medical Technologies Advisory Committee (MTAC) indicates that the device can offer advantages in detecting atrial fibrillation opportunistically while measuring blood pressure, and that using the device in primary care could increase the detection rate of atrial fibrillation compared with taking the pulse by hand. This would allow preventative treatment to be considered to reduce the incidence of atrial fibrillation-related stroke.”
She added: “The guidance is not about screening for atrial fibrillation, but about the benefits that the device offers in helping to pick up atrial fibrillation by chance in people with suspected high blood pressure or those being screened for high blood pressure, in primary care.”
Independent tests revealed that using WatchBP Home A is associated with estimated overall cost savings per person screened of between £2.98 and £4.26 for people aged 65 or over, depending on their age.
Click here for the guidance.
