VOL. XXX AN OFFICIAL JOURNAL ofthe AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION Editorial

OVER the past decade, the use of x-ray and radioisotopes has increased in the diagnosis of heart disease in infants and chil-dren. This has occurred in spite of the fact that the lowest safe radiation dose is still not known. ' Furthermore, it is important to rec-ognize that (1) young growing tissues are more susceptible to the effects of radiation than are mature tissues; (2) the greater life expectancy of children in comparison with adults increases the chances of remote effects of radiation; (3) the procreative period for children is in their future while for many adults, part if not all of this period is past.2 Properly controlled radiation can provide benefits that greatly outweigh the potential hazards if there are adequate indications for its use and the instrumentation and technics are optimal. The indications for the use of radiation are a matter of professional judg-ment based on the clinician's previous train-ing and experience. However, "the only indi-cation is a reasonable probability that each individual patient will benefit personally, each time he is irradiated."2 In this connec-tion, it is now commonly recognized that the electrocardiogram is usually a more sensitive indicator of cardiac chamber hypertrophy than is an x-ray examination. Special x-ray procedures such as fluoroscopy, cardiac cath