
3Microlife BP A6 Advanced Easy EN
What is Atrial Fibrillation (AF)?
Normally, your heart contracts and relaxes to a regular beat. 
Certain cells in your heart produce electrical signals that cause the 
heart to contract and pump blood. Atrial fibrillation occurs when 
rapid, disorganized electrical signals are present in the heart’s two 
upper chambers, called the atria; causing them to contract irregu-
larly (this is called fibrillation). Atrial fibrillation is the most common 
form of heart arrhythmia. It often causes no symptoms, yet it 
significantly increases your risk of stroke. You’ll need a doctor to 
help you control the problem.
Who should be screened for Atrial Fibrillation?
AF screening is recommended for people over 65 years of age, 
since the chance of having a stroke increases with age. 
AF screening is also recommended for people from the age of 
50 years who have high blood pressure (e.g. SYS higher than 159 
or DIA higher than 99) as well as those with diabetes, coronary 
heart failure or for those who have previously had a stroke. 
In young people or in pregnancy AF screening is not recom-
mended as it could generate false results and unnecessary 
anxiety. In addition, young individuals with AF have a low risk of 
getting stroke as compared to elder people.
Risk factors you can control
Early diagnosis of AF followed by adequate treatment can signifi-
cantly reduce the risk of getting stroke. Knowing your blood pres-
sure and knowing whether you have AF is the first step in proactive 
stroke prevention.
For more information visit our website: www.microlife.com/afib.
2. Important facts about blood pressure 
and self-measurement
Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood flowing in the 
arteries generated by the pumping of the heart. Two values, the 
systolic (upper) value and the diastolic (lower) value, are 
always measured.
The device indicates the pulse rate (the number of times the 
heart beats in a minute).
Permanently high blood pressure values can damage your 
health and must be treated by your doctor! 
Always discuss your values with your doctor and tell them if you 
have noticed anything unusual or feel unsure. Never rely on 
single blood pressure readings. 
There are several causes of excessively high blood pressure 
values. Your doctor will explain them in more detail and offer 
treatment where appropriate.
Under no circumstances should you alter the dosages of 
drugs or initiate a treatment without consulting your 
doctor.
Depending on physical exertion and condition, blood pressure 
is subject to wide fluctuations as the day progresses. You 
should therefore take your measurements in the same 
quiet conditions and when you feel relaxed! Take at least 
two readings every time (in the morning and in the evening) and 
average the measurements.
It is quite normal for two measurements taken in quick succes-
sion to produce significantly different results.
Information for the doctor on frequent appearance of the 
atrial fibrillation indicator
This device is an oscillometric blood pressure monitor that also 
analyses pulse irregularity during measurement. The device is 
clinically tested.
The AFIB symbol is displayed after the measurement, if atrial 
fibrillation occurred during measuring. If the AFIB symbol 
appears after having performed a full blood pressure measure-
ment episode (triplicate measurements), the patient is advised 
to perform another measurement episode (triplicate measure-
ments). If the AFIB symbol appears again, we recommend the 
patient to seek medical advice.
If the AFIB-symbol appears on the screen of the blood pressure 
monitor, it indicates the possible presence of atrial fibrillation. 
The atrial fibrillation diagnosis however, must be made by a 
cardiologist based on ECG interpretation.
Keep the arm still during measuring to avoid false readings.
This device may not or wrongly detect atrial fibrillation in 
people with pacemakers or defibrillators.
In the presence of atrial fibrillation the diastolic blood 
pressure value may not be accurate.
In the presence of atrial fibrillation using AFIB/MAM-mode 
is recommended for more reliable blood pressure 
measurement.