{
  "abstract": "Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with significant morbidity, including a five-fold increased risk of stroke. Catheter ablation is an established treatment for symptomatic AF refractory to medical therapy; however, AF recurrence occurs in 20–40% of patients.Post-ablation follow-up traditionally relies on patient-initiated contact with arrhythmia nurse specialists if symptoms occur, alongside routine outpatient review at three months. This model may delay detection of AF recurrence and often requires hospital attendance for investigations such as Holter monitoring.Digital health technologies offer the potential to enhance post-procedural monitoring while reducing healthcare utilisation, costs, and environmental impact.Methods A retrospective audit was conducted at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, a regional arrhythmia centre serving over 3 million people. Fifty-three patients who underwent AF ablation between January and July 2022 were included. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients experiencing post-procedure symptoms requiring contact with arrhythmia services and investigations prior to routine follow-up.This was followed by a prospective pilot study of patients undergoing AF ablation between January and March 2025. Participants were offered remote monitoring using the FibriCheck smartphone application, enabling symptom-linked rhythm recordings that were automatically analysed and reviewed in real time by arrhythmia nurse specialists, with escalation as required.Results In the retrospective audit, 30 patients reported symptoms prior to routine follow-up. Eleven required investigations: five within 0–1 days (all inpatients), two within 2–5 days, and one after more than 5 days; three were investigated outside the Trust.During the prospective period, 251 patients underwent AF ablation, of whom 62 activated FibriCheck and submitted 400 successful recordings (as depicted in figure 1). Of these, 353 demonstrated sinus rhythm. Thirty-six recordings showed warning or non-AF rhythms, including ectopy and tachycardia, while 11 confirmed AF recurrence (as depicted in figure 2). All patients with AF recurrence were contacted promptly and reviewed within the same week, with appropriate management initiated.Remote monitoring reduced unnecessary hospital attendance. Avoided in-person investigations corresponded to an estimated 2,542 miles of patient travel, equating to approximately 0.4 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.Conclusion Home-based rhythm monitoring using FibriCheck improved post-ablation care by enabling rapid correlation of symptoms with rhythm disturbances, facilitating earlier intervention, reducing patient travel, and lowering environmental impact. Digital rhythm monitoring represents a clinically effective, environmentally sustainable, and cost-efficient strategy for post-AF ablation follow-up.Abstract 190 Figure 1Abstract 190 Figure 2",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Khadija Razzaq"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Charles Bowers"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Eleanor Seftel"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Rachel Hahn"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Neve Mason"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Alexander Turner"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Gabriella Mazzoni"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Ranuja Kannangara"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Megan Parkin"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Tom Slater"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Ben Mercer"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom"
      ],
      "name": "Ramesh Nadarajah"
    }
  ],
  "title": "190 The environmental impact of patient-centered smartphone-based monitoring after atrial fibrillation ablation",
  "uid": "0d630450-7e34-52d5-aa30-e0233276cb20"
}