Researchers develop stroke prevention app

The University of Hong Kong announced the release of a new mobile app and screening program to help prevent strokes in atrial fibrillation patients on April 9.

According to research findings by HKU and Taiwan's Yang-Ming University, AF patients are five times more likely to suffer a stroke than those without the heart condition, which causes an irregular heart rate.

In Hong Kong, 12,000 strokes are registered each year, among which, 25 percent are related to AF.

To enforce management of stroke prevention in patients with AF, the department of medicine at HKU initiated two new measures the AF management app and private doctors AF screening program.

The free mobile app was designed to help doctors managing AF patients. Doctors can assess the stroke risk and major bleeding risk of AF patients using the five clinical calculators on the app.

These are calculators for stroke risk, major bleeding risk, quality of anticoagulation, likelihood of good quality anticoagulation and kidney function.

Chan Pak-hei, clinical assistant professor at HKU's department of medicine, said the app is user-friendly and only requires doctors to enter details of risk factors, such as age, blood pressure, diabetes and cardiac failure, to calculate the risk of a stroke.

The app also gives patients a better understanding of their health, which helps doctors effectively communicate the risk of a stroke to their patients and balance it with the risk of a major bleed to make a joint rational decision for long-term action, Chan added.

Patients with AF often show no symptoms of the condition and early identification of people at high risk of AF would enable more aggressive primary prevention and targeted intervention, HKU researchers said.

In 2014, HKU collaborated with the Hong Kong Hospital Authority and launched an AF screening program in government outpatient clinics in Hong Kong's east cluster, with the aim to screen 60,000 patients at high risk of the heart condition.

To date, nearly 15,000 people have received screening. To broaden the coverage to fight strokes in Hong Kong, HKU plans to extend the AF screening program into the private sector.

David Siu Chung Wah, clinical associate professor of HKU's Department of Medicine, is leading the new program. He said: "Although the risk of a stroke is higher in AF patients, if they can be identified at an early stage and proper treatment with medicine is given to them, it is believed that two out three AF related strokes can be prevented each year.

"By launching different programs, we hope to fight strokes and reduce the major burden to the patient, their family and medical system."