Foot assessments can help detect atrial fibrillation in patients with diabetes Atrial fibrillation can be detected during annual foot assessments in patients with diabetes, according to research presented today at EHRA 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). "In our study, one in six patients with diabetes had previously undiagnosed atrial fibrillation," said study author Dr. Ilias Kanellos of the European University of Cyprus, Nicosia. "This presents an opportunity to provide treatment to prevent subsequent strokes." Diabetes is an independent risk factor for atrial fibrillation. Prevalence of the heart rhythm disorder is at least two-fold higher in patients with diabetes compared to those without. Although people with atrial fibrillation have a five times greater risk of stroke, anticoagulation medication is an effective preventive therapy.