Can screening patients routinely for atrial fibrillation (AF) before it is diagnosed, help to prevent stroke occurrence by prescribing anticoagulation to those with discovered AF? 

Dr Steven Lubitz (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, US) discusses the results of the VITAL-AF trial which assessed the effectiveness of screening for undiagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) using simple, efficient, and portable electronic health and mobile technologies in a healthcare system.

Questions
1.    What was the background to this trial?
2.    What makes the VITAL-AF trial unique?
3.    What was the design, patient population and endpoints?
4.    What were the key results?
5.    How should these findings influence current guidelines and patient management?

Recorded remotely from Boston, 2020.

Interviewer: Mirjam Boros 
Recording Editor: Natascha Wienand, Josh Birch