Your help is needed! Screening for atrial fibrillation

[Charleneadmin]

Can you help save lives and those impacted by AF-related strokes?

We are calling on everyone to write to the National Screening Committee supporting the need for a national screening programme.

Why do we ask this of you?

In 2014 the National Screening Committee refused to support a national screening programme for AF for a number of reasons – and have now put out an updated review for consultation, asking for individuals and organisations input to comment on their current thinking. Attached is the consultation document which recommends to NOT set up a national screening programme, even though they consider it would be cost-effective.

We completely disagree and want as many people as possible to ask the NSC to reconsider the evidence provided by organisations such as AF Association, and to recommend a national screening programme for AF for people over the age of 65 years, who will have a 1 in 4 chance of having AF.

The recently announced NHS long-term plan has AF as one of its three priority areas – and is calling for 89% of people with AF to be diagnosed within this time-frame. There are currently half a million people unaware that they have AF and are, therefore, at risk of suffering a debilitating or life-threatening, AF-related stroke.

The only way this ambitious target will be met, and significant lives saved, is through a national screening programme.

Please use our notes on our website at heartrhythmalliance.org/afa... to send your personal response to the Evidence Team at [e-mail] by 27th June 2019.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me – it is critical that we change the current view of the NSC – if we do not, then it will be at least another five years before such a programme could be implemented and how many of the undiagnosed, unaware half million people with AF will have died from an AF-related stroke?

Thank you for your support – and please let us know (ideally share) when you have written to the NSC and any response you receive.

With Best Wishes

Trudie Lobban, Founder and Trustee of Arrhythmia Alliance

[e-mail]