48 hours holter monitoring in detecting occult atrial fibrillation in Adults

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of 48 hours Holter monitoring in detecting clinically asymptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) in young patients who have experienced an ischemic stroke.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Neurology department of National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) Karachi, Pakistan from August 2022 to July 2023, focusing on patients admitted with ischemic stroke. Study comprised medical data from 48 patients who were admitted for 48-hour Holter monitoring. During the monitoring period, patients were identified as positive if atrial fibrillation lasting 6 minutes or longer was detected.

Results: Overall, 48 patients were included in this study with mean age 46.38±6.13 years. There were 72.9% males and 27.1% females. Hypertension was the most common family history of the study patients. The mean national institute of health stroke scale and Glasgow coma scale of the patients was 10.29±3.31 and 12.14±1.28, respectively.

Conclusion: The 24-hour Holter monitoring method exhibits a low detection rate for atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF/AFL), but it is more likely to detect AF in individuals of advanced age, as well as those with hypertension, stroke symptoms, or diabetes.