Study suggests common heart test may harm patients

September 16, 1996
Web posted at: 10:50 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- A common procedure intended to help save the lives of critically ill heart patients may actually be putting thousand of lives at risk, according to new research.

A review of more than 5,000 critically ill heart patients suggests that, rather than being helped, those treated with the "right heart catheterization" procedure may be more likely to die, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"If you had a thousand patients, you would have ended up in our population with about 50 more deaths," said Dr. Joanne Lynn of George Washington University. "That's a substantial number, and we should be very concerned about it."

In the test, a catheter entering through the neck allows doctors to check blood pressures inside a patient's heart. Such information can help them make crucial decisions about treatment, but the procedure was never put through the strictest scientific tests.

Experts estimate that more than a half-million critically ill patients in the U.S. get the test each year, which could mean some 30,000 additional deaths. The researchers said it is not that patients die during testing, but that something happens later. Further study is called for to pinpoint the problem.

An editorial accompanying the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association called for either a ban on the test or an immediate major study by the National Institutes of Health.

"The most important thing is that there be a response quickly. This is used on a lot of people, it needs to be solved soon," said Dr. Lynn.

Other experts urge caution, saying a ban on the catheter tests would do more harm than good. While agreeing that studies should be done, the head of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute said others can do them.

"We are not going to change everything today to go and do this clinical trial." said Dr. Claude Lenfant, of the institute.

Correspondent Andrew Holtz contributed to this report.

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• American Medical Association
• Journal of American Medicine Association

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