In a paid supplement to the American Journal of Cardiology, 27 physicians published a guideline that men age 45 to 75 and women age 55 to 75 receive routine screening for heart disease using CT scans and ultrasound at a total cost of $250 to $750 per patient. The authors paid to get their article published, with financial help from Pfizer, maker of the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, which meant that it was not peer-reviewed, reports The Boston Globe. Although the authors claim that routine screening to identify calcium deposits in blood vessels of the heart and to monitor the thickness of carotid arteries will uncover early heart disease, they also acknowledge that they were hoping their article would spur enough interest to generate funding for a study to determine whether the screening would be effective. Critics of the guidelines, however, argue that routine screening will not prevent heart attacks and that such tests expose people to radiation. Insurers say they will not pay for routine cardiac screening, according to the Globe, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute expressed no interest in funding a study. The journal article also stirred debate over whether medical publications should accept contributions in special supplements that are underwritten by companies or physicians who have financial interests in the content.
