Criticizing the Cardiology Industrial Complex

I like the term "Cardiology Industrial Complex".  In general it tells me that we are failing everyone with a heart and everyone with a potential to develop heart dis-ease.

I also believe that some points in the article excerpted below Marilyn Mann's blog have need for consideration.

I believe this because I know the downside of this approach to care, such as stents that close up, and I know what natural care can do to prevent and reverse heart disease.

"Cardiac care is a money-making machine that too often favors profit over science,” attacks marketing campaigns that exploit people’s concerns about heart disease to promote unnecessary and inappropriate tests. The key points:

People often get the wrong tests, wasting resources and often leading to inappropriate treatment.

Angioplasty is overused in nonemergency situations when lifestyle changes and drugs would be just as effective.

Consumers don’t have enough information on quality of care.

The nature of heart disease is often misunderstood to be a kind of plumbing problem. This leads to the idea that the way to prevent future problems is to search for blockages and stent them. This procedure can be lifesaving in a patient who is in the midst of a heart attack, but has not been shown to be more beneficial in nonemergency situations than a more conservative approach of controlling risk factors with lifestyle changes and drugs.

In addition, CR found in a survey of 8,000 of its subscribers that many people undergo heart-related screening tests such as an electrocardiogram, exercise stress test, or ultrasound of the carotid arteries, “even though such tests aren’t recommended for healthy people.” In addition, many people undergo these screening tests without first investigating the accuracy of the tests or what they would need to do if the test indicated a possible problem."

Additionally, Stephen Nissen MD, believes that the system favors more costly procedures. Nissen is the medical doctor who blew the whistle on Avandia.

Of course this is all about making money and third party billing.

More on natural cardiovascular care here -