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A procedure used to control an abnormal heartbeat works just as well in younger adults as in older ones, a study has found. And the younger adults had fewer serious side effects. The procedure is called catheter ablation. It uses heat to destroy sections of heart muscle that are causing the rhythm problem. The study included 1,548 people. All had frequent atrial fibrillation. This is an abnormal heart rhythm. The top chambers of the heart quiver instead of beat normally. The patients had tried medicine, but it didn’t control the problem. After catheter ablation, the problem stopped or seldom occurred in 82% to 88% of patients. Age made little difference in the success rate. People under age 45 also did not have any strokes or other major problems after the procedure. But 2% to 3% of older groups had these problems.

Some women may be better off delaying breast reconstruction after mastectomy, a study suggests. Researchers looked at 302 breast cancer cases. All of the women had mastectomies. Of these, 152 had reconstruction. This includes 131 who had it right away. In all, 100 women had radiation treatment. Further problems (complications) occurred in 44% of the women who had radiation after reconstruction. About 31% of them had to have their implants removed. But complications occurred in only 7% of women who had radiation but did not have immediate reconstruction. About 6% had their implants removed. One study author told HealthDay News that he has changed patient care because of this research. He now recommends a biopsy of the lymph node closest to the cancer before women decide about reconstruction. If this lymph node is cancer-free, a woman probably won’t need radiation.