Supermarket shopping carts can now help save your life. They can help spot a heart condition called atrial fibrillation. Detecting this early can help stop severe or deadly strokes.
This exciting news comes from research shared at ACNAP 2023, a scientific meeting of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). It was also written about in the Journal of Personalized Medicine.
A Lifesaver in the Shopping Aisle
Professor Ian Jones, who led the study, says this work shows that health checks can reach many people without disturbing their day-to-day life.
“In just two months, we found 39 shoppers who didn’t know they had atrial fibrillation,” he shares. “So that’s 39 people who now know they’re at risk of stroke and have seen a heart doctor.”
Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Risk
Over 40 million people worldwide have atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm problem. It makes you five times more likely to have a stroke, which can be deadly or disabling.
Blood thinning medicine can help, but many people only find out they have atrial fibrillation after a stroke.
This is why we need programs to find people with this condition early so they can start taking medicine to prevent strokes.
Shopping Carts as Health Detectives
The SHOPS-AF study wanted to see if they could find atrial fibrillation in shoppers by adding ECG sensors to shopping carts.
They placed sensors in the handles of ten carts in four Liverpool supermarkets with pharmacies. Shoppers were asked to use these special carts and hold onto the handle for at least one minute.
How the System Works
If the sensor did not find any problems with the shopper’s heart rhythm, it showed a green light. A researcher then manually checked the person’s pulse to make sure there was no atrial fibrillation.
If the sensor found a problem, it showed a red light. The shopper then got another pulse check from the in-store pharmacist and another sensor reading while standing still, not using the cart.
Results and Follow-Up
A cardiologist then checked the ECG readings of people with a red light or an irregular pulse. The shoppers were told their results. If they had atrial fibrillation, they got a heart doctor appointment within two weeks.
Review of the Data
In total, 2,155 adults used a shopping cart with a sensor. ECG data was collected from 220 people who got a red light or had an irregular pulse.
The cardiologist found no signs of atrial fibrillation in 115 people, 46 results were unclear, and 59 people were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Of these 59, 20 already knew they had the condition, and 39 didn’t.
Evaluating Accuracy
To see how well the method worked, the team did three tests. The tests showed that the sensors could find atrial fibrillation between 70% and 93% of the time.
But the system also had a lot of false positives and false negatives.
The Next Steps
Professor Jones shares that two-thirds of shoppers were happy to use the carts. Most people who didn’t want to were in a hurry, not afraid of being watched.
He believes most people would be okay with this system. But before a larger study, they need to make some changes to make the system better, like having a specific spot on the handle to hold and shortening the time needed to hold the handle.
He concludes, “Checking for atrial fibrillation while people do their regular shopping could prevent strokes and save lives.
But it’s very important to have a health professional right there who can explain the results and get the person the help they need if the test finds something.”
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the major cause of deadly heart rhythm disorders, and Vitamin K2 could help reduce heart disease risk.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how COVID-19 damages the heart, and Vitamin C is linked to a lower risk of heart failure.
The study was published in J Pers Med.
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