Harvard Health Content API

Catheter ablation destroys spots in the heart responsible for atrial fibrillation. Although traditionally used as a second-line treatment after medications fail, undergoing ablation earlier in the course of the disease may be a good option. The overall success rate for catheter ablation is around 75%. People sometimes undergo a second procedure if the first one isn’t effective; this boosts the success rate to nearly 90%. Many factors, such as age, other health problems, and duration of afib can affect a person’s outcome after catheter ablation.

Listening to music (or singing or playing an instrument) may benefit cardiovascular health. Evidence suggests music helps rebalance the nervous system to promote the relaxation response and dampen the stress response. The benefits may result from greater heart rate variability, enhanced exercise performance, lower stress hormone levels, or reductions in blood pressure.

For many people, non-HDL cholesterol (which is total cholesterol minus HDL cholesterol) may be as good as (or even more reliable than) LDL for assessing a person’s risk of heart problems.

The American Heart Association revamped its online tool, My Life Check, designed to help people prevent cardiovascular disease. Along with other changes, the AHA added healthy sleep duration to the list of seven other factors assessed by the tool. Those factors are maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, being physically active, eating a healthy diet, and keeping blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol at acceptable levels. Each factor (now known as Life’s Essential 8) are scored on a scale of 1 to 100 and used to generate a composite cardiovascular health score.