Dentists will soon be monitoring patients for dangerous heart conditions if a research project increases detection rates.
Cardiac scientists at Edinburgh’s Napier University are asking dentists to test patients for a potentially lethal condition which causes serious strokes and heart attacks.
The defect called atrial fibrillation (AF) is detected by picking up out of sync heart beats or rhythms that put people at risk.
Dental patients are undergoing a simple test which involves placing their hands on a monitor for a few moments to detect irregular heartbeats.
The university’s Centre for Cardiovascular Health has enrolled dentists because evidence shows that gum disease – infections that destroy the bone holding teeth in place – can go on to cause major heart attacks and strokes. Up to half the nation’s adults have gum disease at some point in their lives.
AF symptoms include palpitations and irregular heartbeats – where the heart feels like it’s pounding, fluttering or beating irregularly, often for a few seconds or possibly minutes. More than 100,000 Scots have it, but many go undiagnosed.
Dr Coral Hanson, senior research fellow at the centre, said: “In Scotland, atrial fibrillation affects around 2.6% of the population.
“About a third of people with the condition do not know that they have it because not all AF patients have symptoms.
“Dental surgeries may well be a good choice because we think there is a link between gum disease and AF. The screening only takes a few moments and can be done in a waiting room.”
Specialist: Diagnosis of women’s heart condition is too slow
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) says that 145,000 Scots have AF but only 96,000 have been diagnosed.
Hanson said: “AF can affect all ages but is most commonly found in the over-65s and those with it are five times more likely to have a stroke than those without it.
“Around 10% of the strokes caused by blood clots blocking arteries, are in people with undiagnosed AF.
“AF strokes are more likely to be serious and around 70% are left with a permanent disability or die, compared with 55% of non-AF ones.
“Early intervention with drugs to help prevent blood clots causing these strokes can be given when AF in detected.”
The purpose of the study is to discover the best places to test people the Edinburgh team say.
A total of 1,000 patients at Newcastle Dental Hospital are being screened in the study.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) points to research saying that women with irregular heartbeats are at stronger risk of heart disease.
“The research which was published in the British Medical Journal, involved looking at studies conducted in more than four million patients and found that women with AF, a common and often symptomless irregularity of the heart rhythm, are more likely to suffer future heart attacks and strokes,” said the BHF.
Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland Chief Executive Jane-Claire Judson said: “We know that atrial fibrillation can increase the risk of stroke up to five times and it is more common as people age.
“We welcome any approach that raises awareness of the condition and its associated risks and goes someway to getting people the appropriate treatment as early as possible.
“Using existing structures and processes that people are already engaging with(dental appointments) is a great way to do this.”
Atrial fibrillation happens when abnormal electrical impulses suddenly start firing in the upper two chambers of the heart.
These impulses override the heart’s natural pacemaker preventing it from controlling the rhythm of the heart. This causes a highly irregular pulse rate.
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