Month: February 2014

A procedure works better than medicines to treat a common heart rhythm problem, a small new study finds. But the side effects can be serious. Atrial fibrillation occurs when the heart’s upper chambers beat in an erratic, fast rhythm. This can increase the risk of clots and stroke. Medicines can slow the heart and prevent clots. If this doesn’t work, doctors may use ablation. This procedure uses a heated probe to burn a small area of the heart. Burning blocks the erratic electrical signals that cause the rhythm problem. The new study included 127 people who had just been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. They were randomly assigned to receive either medicines to slow the heart beat or ablation. In the next 2 years, 72% of the medicine group and 54% of the surgery group had atrial fibrillation that lasted at least 30 seconds. For many who got better, symptoms came back.

Most adults don’t need to have a test for narrowed arteries in the neck, an expert group says. The draft advice comes from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. This independent group of experts issues advice on preventive care and testing. Doctors, the government and insurance companies usually follow its advice. The new report focuses on carotid artery stenosis. The carotid arteries supply the brain with blood. They can become narrow inside because of a buildup of fatty deposits. Carotid artery stenosis increases the risk of stroke. But the task force said that screening all adults with ultrasound would not be worthwhile. Narrowed carotid arteries are not common. But some tests could show “false positive” results. This is when a test result looks suspicious but the problem is not really there. Such results might lead to more tests and even surgeries that were not needed.

Bullying can have lasting effects on children’s well-being, even years after it stops, a new study suggests. And kids who are bullied the longest seem to have the worst effects. The study is based on surveys of nearly 4,300 children. The same children were asked questions in 5th, 7th and 10th grades. About 30% reported being regularly bullied on at least one survey. This was defined as being physically pushed around, or teased, at least once a week. Children also were asked about their normal activities and their physical and mental health. Those who were bullied were more likely than other kids to have depression symptoms or low self-esteem. They also reported lower mental, social and physical well-being. About 3% to 4% of the children reported being bullied on all 3 surveys.

Having a head or neck injury may triple the chance of stroke in the next month for people under age 50, a study finds. Strokes are most common among adults over 65. They occur less often in young adults and children, but they are not rare. The new study looked at medical records of 1.3 million people younger than 50. All of them had received emergency treatment for head or neck injuries. Within the next four weeks, 48 out of every 100,000 young adults had an ischemic stroke. This is the most common type of stroke. It is caused by a clot that blocks a blood vessel in the brain. Strokes also occurred in 11 of every 100,000 children treated for a head or neck injury. Researchers said they were unsure why the stroke rate increased so sharply after these injuries. Study findings were presented February 13 at a conference. HealthDay News wrote about the study.