Keeping blood pressure and blood sugar levels under control might prevent a common heart rhythm disorder called "heart block." That's the finding from a new study analyzing data on more than 6,000 people, aged 30 and older, in Finland. In the study, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers found that 58 of those people developed heart block over an average follow-up of 25 years. Heart block, or atrioventricular block, occurs when electrical signals between the heart's four chambers are disrupted.
Often felt as a skipped beat, it can lead to the need for a pacemaker. Every 10-millimeter increase in systolic blood pressure resulted in a 22% greater risk of heart block, and every millimeter increase in fasting blood sugar (glucose) resulted in a 19% greater risk, the findings showed. The researchers estimated that 47% of the 58 heart block cases could have been…
