Practical characteristics and performance of the 3 screening tests
| Screening test | Time taken for test, s, mean ± SD | Screening test result no. (%) | True positive (atrial fibrillation confirmed)* | False positive (atrial fibrillation excluded)* | Positive predictive value % (95% CI) | Relative false positive rate compared with pulse-check | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Neg. | ||||||
| Pulse-check n = 2054 | 42.1 ± 22.5 | 118 (5.7) | 1936 (94.3) | 45 | 65 | 40.9 (31.7–50.1) | – |
| Single-lead ECG n = 2054 | 128.2 ± 82.0 | 78 (3.8) | 1976 (96.2) | 51 | 18 | 73.9 (63.6–84.3) | 0.28 |
| Blood pressure n = 2054 | 194.8 ± 71.5 | 79 (3.8) | 1975 (96.2) | 39 | 34 | 53.4 (42.0–64.9) | 0.52 |
Note: CI = confidence interval, ECG = electrocardiogram, Neg. = negative, Pos. = positive, SD = standard deviation.
↵* Numbers refer to all patients who underwent each test who attended confirmatory testing (12-lead ECG ± Holter monitor), so are less than the number screening positive in each case.