health forum

he results of the latest study are published in  JAMA Cardiology. Hypertension is the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and death. Current guidelines call for adults with hypertension to lower their systolic blood pressure to less than 140 mm Hg. Researchers from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Tulane School of Medicine analyzed 42 clinical trials involving more than 144,000 patients. They found significant linear associations between systolic blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, with the lowest risk at a systolic blood pressure of 120 to 124 mm Hg. "These findings support more intensive systolic blood pressure control among adults with hypertension," says Jiang He, Joseph S. Copes chair and professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. "They suggest the need for revising the current clinical guidelines for man...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a condition that affects as many as 6.1 million Americans and is characterized by an irregular, often rapid heart rate caused by a misfiring of electrical impulses. Physicians commonly treat the condition using a minimally invasive procedure called catheter ablation, in which doctors insert thin, flexible wires into veins, snaking them up into the heart. Once there, physicians apply radiofrequency energy or freezing temperatures to eliminate the abnormal electrical pathways, restoring the heart's regular rhythm. To guide this procedure, many cardiologists rely on an imaging technique called fluoroscopy that uses a continuous X-ray beam to visualize the heart. While effective, the technique exposes both the care team and patient to high doses of radiation. "The amount of fluoroscopy received by a patient during a routine AF ablation procedure is estimated to be the equivalent of the dose of radiation a patient would receive with 830 X-rays,...