Old school, but checking your pulse (manually) remains a highly sensitive method for detecting AF. Specificity not good but as a method of ruling out AF, it’s pretty good.
Why bother? There is a strong association between AF and stroke. Roughly 1 in 6 strokes is due to blood clots caused by AF itself and by other factors that predispose to AF. Someone with AF is about 5 times more likely to have a stroke than someone who doesn’t. 1 in 4 people over 40 (North American numbers) will develop AF. Optimal management of AF reduces stroke risk, but you need to identify it first.
A couple of useful videos here:
https://www.heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/uk/know-your-pulseThere is an app mentioned in one of those videos called Fibricheck which uses the phone camera as a way to measure pulse rate and rhythm. I have tried it just now, on behalf of you all
It’s all right I suppose. You need to sign up and get an account. I suspect at some point, money will be asked for. When you use it, it tells you within seconds that “a medical expert has reviewed your measurement to guarantee a detailed and medical grade diagnosis”. which I find rather unlikely. Yet, when I click on the bit where it reports my pulse rate and rhythm, the small print says “this is not a diagnosis”.
There may be better apps that also use the tech that is already present in most phones. I see Dr. Fibricheck has just emailed me to say it is only free for 24 hours, which isn’t a lot of good, and they will now be unsubscribed from.
Anyway, getting back to my original point, manual pulse checks, with the Mk1 finger, are useful and it could be worth becoming familiar with the method and what the pulse normally feels like. An easy way to reassure yourself that you are not in AF.