Many American Heart Association guidelines are based on inadequate evidence

Everything is illuminated in the harsh spotlight of sound science. And that can be SO annoying!

In a recent Journal of the American Medical Association study, cardiology and cardiovascular researchers at Duke University compared levels of scientific evidence against practice guidelines recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC).

Their conclusion: “Recommendations issued in current ACC/AHA clinical practice guidelines are largely developed from lower levels of evidence or expert opinion. The proportion of recommendations for which there is no conclusive evidence is also growing.”

Agreeing with the study, Harlan Krumholz of Yale University School of Medicine told the Wall St. Journal: “Treatment decisions are often made very dogmatically even when the level of evidence isn’t very strong.”

Don’t you hate it when medical mainstreamers behave like a bunch of alternative medicine whackos?

Source:
“Study Questions Evidence Behind Heart Therapies” Ron Winslow, Wall St. Journal, 2/24/09, online.wsj.com