Facilitation of Atrial Fibrillation screening by risk assessment using clinical, echocardiographic and strain variables.

Atrial fibrillation is a common heart rhythm disorder and a leading cause of stroke and heart failure in the community. This thesis examined the role of mass screening for atrial fibrillation. It examines novel clinical and cardiac imaging markers to help identify those at increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation. It develops a risk algorithm which can be applied to develop a mass screening program for atrial fibrillation.