Heartbeats Pilot in Stroke Project

A project to identify people with irregular heartbeats, which can significantly increase the risk of a stroke, is being trialled at GP practices across Scotland.

The project uses a handheld heart monitor to easily and accurately monitor a patient's heartbeat, allowing a GP to spot the symptoms of atrial fibrillation (AF).

The hard-to-spot condition causes an irregular heartbeat, which makes a person five times more likely to have a stroke.

Currently, patients with atrial fibrillation are usually identified during routine pulse or blood pressure checks at their GP surgeries.

The Scottish Government has provided £52,000 in funding towards the project, run collaboratively with the Scottish Centre for Telehealth in 20 GP practices across Lothian, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Fife, Tayside and Grampian.

The one-year pilot scheme will run up to July before a decision is taken on whether to roll it out more widely.

During a visit to one of the pilot surgeries, Ashgrove Medical Practice in Blackburn, West Lothian, public health minister Maureen Watt said: Atrial Fibrillation is a relatively minor condition and most of the time the patient will be perfectly healthy and have no idea they have it.

However, we need to identify those people because we know it can lead to irregular heartbeats and increase the risk of stroke.

We are keen to find a way to identify people with this condition and this innovative pilot scheme is part of those efforts.

With a simple handheld device it should prove much easier to spot the symptoms and GPs will then be able to give appropriate advice and treatment.

Once complete, the project will be fully evaluated so we can decide whether to roll it out across the health service.''