ARTICLE URGING HEART EXAMS SHOWS CONFLICTING INTERESTS

The recommendation carried the seal of approval of an established medical journal: virtually every middle-aged man and woman should be screened routinely for heart disease, using sophisticated and pricey technology to take snapshots of clogged vessels. Usually, such a seismic shift in medical practice — it would affect 50 million US adults and easily cost $25 billion or more — emerges from a government agency or a major professional organization. But the guidelines that appeared earlier this month under the banner of The American Journal of Cardiology reflected the passions of a few dozen researchers.
The Boston Globe