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Atrial FibrillationVALIANT-AF-SNCT06953778

The Effectiveness of Patch-Based Screening for Pre-Symptomatic Atrial Fibrillation to Improve Patient Outcome

A study testing Zio XT® Patch in people with Atrial Fibrillation, run by VA Office of Research and Development at 1 site in United States.

Not yet recruiting

Opening soon. The study is approved but enrolment has not started yet. Sites may already take enquiries.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

The goal of the screening trial is to determine whether early screening for atrial fibrillation improves outcomes, including lowering the chance of death, hospitalization for stroke, blood clots, heart failure, heart attack, and severe bleeding reduces the risk of stroke or heart failure. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 65 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Atrial Fibrillation
What is being tested?
Zio XT® Patch
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
24,060 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
8 Mar 2027to 3 Oct 2033
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 65 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • To be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:
  • Male or female, age >=65 years
  • CHA2DS2-Vasc score >=3. The score is comprised of age (2 points for 75, 1 point for 65-74), sex (1 point for female), history of stroke, TIA, or systemic embolism (2 points), and history of heart failure, hypertension, vascular disease (including MI, peripheral artery disease, or aortic plaque), or diabetes (1 point each).

Who cannot join

  • An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
  • Current use of anticoagulation
  • Diagnosis of AF (from administrative records or per patient during consent)
  • Cardio-thoracic surgery in the prior 3 months
  • Presence of pacemaker, implantable defibrillator, or implanted cardiac monitor
  • Clinically significant allergy to adhesives, as reported by the patient during screening for trial enrollment
  • Planned use of a brain or spinal-cord stimulator, TENS unit, or MRI scan during the period when the Zio Patch will be worn

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Mustabeen Ashfaq, MS contact

(857) 364-6026

mustabeen.ashfaq@va.gov

United States1 site
  • VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA

    Palo Alto, California, 94304-1207

    Mustabeen Ashfaq, MS, 857-364-6026, mustabeen.ashfaq@va.gov

    Paul A. Heidenreich, MD MS

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: CSP #2037S - Veterans Affairs Learning Health System Initiative to Assess Novel Screening vs. Usual Care and Treatment With Apixaban vs. Rivaroxaban in Veterans With Atrial Fibrillation (VALIANT-AF-S) Trial

  • The goal of the screening trial is to determine whether early screening for atrial fibrillation improves outcomes, including lowering the chance of death, hospitalization for stroke, blood clots, heart failure, heart attack, and severe bleeding reduces the risk of stroke or heart failure.
  • Atrial fibrillation is a common heart condition in which one of the heart chambers doesn't follow a normal rhythm. Blood clots can form as a result, and they can travel to the brain and cause strokes, or to other organs.
  • Almost everyone with atrial fibrillation is treated with drugs called anticoagulants ("blood thinners") to reduce the risk of stroke. These drugs also increase the risk of bleeding.
  • Testing for atrial fibrillation is usually done for patients who have symptoms of an irregular or unusually fast or slow heartbeat, often called "palpitations" or a sensation of the heart pounding or stopping for a short period of time.
  • What is not known is whether screening people who do not have symptoms of atrial fibrillation, but who are at above-average risk of getting atrial fibrillation, will reduce death, hospitalization for stroke, blood clots, heart failure more than it increases hospitalization for severe bleeding.
  • People who participate in the trial who are selected by chance to receive screening will wear a small heart-rate monitor (Zio Patch) on their skin for 14 days and then return it to the manufacturer. Their doctors will be notified about the results and will make decisions about any treatment to recommend.
  • The screening trial is expected to enroll about 24,000 VA patients nationwide and to last 7 years, but each person's active participation in the trial is completed after sending in the Zio Patch. After that, the study team will just collect information from the participant's electronic medical records.
Read the detailed description

The study hypothesis is that screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) in participants at risk for AF will be associated with a reduction in adverse cardiovascular outcomes. This trial will enroll 24,060 participants with CHA2DS2-VASc score >=3, aged >=65 years without known AF to be randomized to either receive systematic screening at-home with a Zio Patch monitor or to no screening (usual care). If Zio Patch readings indicate AF or another significant arrhythmia, the provider(s) will be advised to consider a set of evidence-based guidelines, including but not limited to anticoagulation. The primary outcome is time to a composite of several events that are complications of AF or its treatment, all of them assessed remotely via electronic administrative records.

The Primary Objective is to assess the effect of a strategy for screening for pre-symptomatic AF on a composite outcome of complications of AF and its treatment, in a prospective, randomized trial. Secondary Objective is to assess the effectiveness of this strategy on the rate of clinical diagnosis of AF.

Primary Endpoint: composite of 1) hospitalization for stroke; 2) hospitalization for systemic embolism; 3) hospitalization for heart failure; 4) hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome; 5) hospitalization for bleeding; 6) death from any cause.

Secondary Endpoints: diagnosis of AF (ICD-10 codes); individual components of the composite outcome.

24,060 patients age >=65 years at approximately 100 VA Medical Centers throughout the US; representation of every VISN and likely every US state is anticipated. CHA2DS2-VASc score >=3 ensures that participants have cardiovascular risk factors (with age considered such a risk factor) but are not necessarily chronically ill. Those already diagnosed with AF, diagnosed with dementia, or anticoagulated long-term for reasons other than AF will be excluded. The VA population is ~89% male with skewing that increases with age; inclusion of Veterans aged 55-64 years and the fact that female sex contributes 1 point to the CHA2DS2-VASc score should increase enrollment of women. Because of the pragmatic trial design and the fact that AF in Veterans <age 55 years is very uncommon, the study population will be restricted to only those >=55 years with AF. However, the primary outcome analysis will include only those Veterans age 65 years in order to assess outcomes from the EHR and other electronic data sources remotely.

Approximately 100 VA Medical Centers with primary care and outpatient cardiology services will be used. The study will not include sites outside the US.

The trial is planned for 3 years of active enrollment and at least 3 years of remote follow-up of the last enrolled participant, thus 6 years of data collection (3-6 years per patient), with an additional year for the completion of data analysis, 7 years (84 months) total.

Participant duration is less than one month to enroll in the screening trial and complete the Zio Patch screening procedure. After that, clinical management is per the participant's providers, and all data are collected remotely using VA and CMS administrative data.

Being tested
Zio XT® Patch
Keywords
Atrial Fibrillation, Ischemic Stroke
Medical subject headings
Atrial Fibrillation, Ischemic Stroke

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Zio XT® PatchDevice

    Also called Zio Patch

    For participants randomized to be systematically screened, ambulatory ECG monitoring of up to 14 days will be performed using the Zio XT® Patch (iRhythm Inc, San Francisco, CA). The Zio XT® patch is a small, cutaneous ambulatory ECG recording device that provides cardiac rhythm monitoring for up to 14 consecutive days (significantly longer than the 48 hours of monitoring provided by a typical Holter Monitor). The device is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is in routine clinical use, including in the VA system.

Study groups in NCT06953778
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Systematic Screening ArmExperimentalParticipants randomized to be systematically screened will receive at-home screening with a Zio XT Patch monitor.
Receives: Device: Zio XT® Patch
No Screening ArmNo interventionParticipants randomized to this arm will receive usual care.

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Hospitalization for Stroke

    Hospitalization for stroke, as determined by ICD-10 codes associated with hospitalization. The primary outcome is time to the first event of stroke, systemic embolism, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, or major bleeding, or death from any cause (outcomes 1-6).

    Measured: 3 years, assessed remotely via electronic administrative records

  2. Hospitalization for Systemic Embolism

    Hospitalization for systemic embolism, as determined by ICD-10 codes associated with hospitalization. The primary outcome is time to the first event of stroke, systemic embolism, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, or major bleeding, or death from any cause (outcomes 1-6).

    Measured: 3 years, assessed remotely via electronic administrative records

  3. Hospitalization for Heart Failure

    Hospitalization for heart failure, as determined by ICD-10 codes associated with hospitalization. The primary outcome is time to the first event of stroke, systemic embolism, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, or major bleeding, or death from any cause (outcomes 1-6).

    Measured: 3 years, assessed remotely via electronic administrative records

  4. Hospitalization for Acute Coronary Syndrome

    Hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome, as determined by ICD-10 codes associated with hospitalization. The primary outcome is time to the first event of stroke, systemic embolism, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, or major bleeding, or death from any cause (outcomes 1-6).

    Measured: 3 years, assessed remotely via electronic administrative records

  5. Hospitalization for Major Bleeding

    Hospitalization for major bleeding, as determined by ICD-10 codes associated with hospitalization. The primary outcome is time to the first event of stroke, systemic embolism, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, or major bleeding, or death from any cause (outcomes 1-6).

    Measured: 3 years, assessed remotely via electronic administrative records

  6. All-Cause Mortality

    Death of any cause, as determined by VA data on vital status. The primary outcome is time to the first event of stroke, systemic embolism, heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, or major bleeding, or death from any cause (outcomes 1-6).

    Measured: 3 years, assessed remotely via electronic administrative records

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Rate of New Diagnosis of AF

    Diagnosis of AF will be determined by use of its ICD code or detection of AF sustained for at least 30 seconds using a Zio Patch or other screening device.

    Measured: 3 years

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted1 May 2025
  2. Study start8 Mar 2027 (estimated)
  3. Primary completion1 Oct 2032 (estimated)
  4. Study completion3 Oct 2033 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Screening
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
For participants randomized to be systematically screened, ambulatory ECG monitoring of up to 14 days will be performed using the Zio XT® Patch. The company (iRhythm, Inc.) provides a detailed summary of findings, followed by review and summary by a trained Certified Cardiographic Technician. A VA cardiologist will review the data (as is standard in clinical use). The report will include, at a minimum: 1) the presence and total duration of any atrial fibrillation; 2) Additional findings relevant to clinical care. Evidence-based guidance for management will be included with the report. Any critical findings are reported immediately to the responsible local physician (site investigator) by iRhythm as is the standard practice.
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
24,060 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06953778
Sponsor's protocol ID
2037S
Other IDs
2037
Acronym
VALIANT-AF-S
Status last verified
Jun 2026
First submitted
23 Apr 2025
Last updated
30 Jun 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Zio XT® Patch in people with Atrial Fibrillation, run by VA Office of Research and Development at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 30 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Mustabeen Ashfaq, MS ((857) 364-6026, mustabeen.ashfaq@va.gov), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Hospitalization for Stroke (time frame: 3 years, assessed remotely via electronic administrative records). The study lists 6 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 30 Jun 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 30 Oct 2026.

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