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Heart Diseases: Older People

Question for Department of Health

UIN 224596, tabled on 20 February 2015

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the UK National Screening Committee's policy on screening people over 65 for atrial fibrillation.

Answered on

26 February 2015

In 2014 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommended that screening people aged 65 and over for atrial fibrillation should not be offered. This is because the evidence did not show that those identified by screening would benefit from early diagnosis. Ministers have accepted the UK NSC’s recommendation.

As part of its three yearly recommendation review process, the UK NSC will review this recommendation in 2017/18.