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(Circulation. 1999;99:2850-2851.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Challenging Conventional and Unconventional Wisdom

Ruth SoRelle, MPH¹

¹ Circulation Newswriter

Cardiologists, epidemiologists, and molecular scientists at the 48th Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in New Orleans, La, ventured into new territory, questioning the accepted treatments for various populations of patients and promising ones that have been widely heralded as the next generation in heart disease therapy.

Leading the challengers was David E. Wennberg, MD, of the Maine Medical Center in Portland. The ACC has charged Wennberg with the task of studying variations in rates of revascularization procedures performed throughout the nation; such variation is seen by many in the healthcare arena as a problem that must be resolved. The problem is that rates of surgery and procedures vary from state to state although the rates of disease are similar. By June 1999, Wennberg hopes to have published an atlas of his findings, the first step in determining the best method for handling this problem.

The Dartmouth Atlas of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Health Care, which will be published by the ACC, the American Hospital Association, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons in July 1999, is one of many planned by a health-policy arm of Dartmouth Medical Center, Hanover, NH, as part of that group's ongoing studies of variations in health care. The issue is an important one, said Anthony de Maria, MD, chief of cardiology at the University of California at San Diego Medical School. "When medical care has been studied from a geographic point of view," he said, "differences have been found. This is an . . . [Full Text of this Article]