A study of nearly 500 individuals who helped craft treatment guidelines for heart conditions found that more than half reported financial conflicts of interest involving drug companies and medical technology firms.

The most common conflict involved doctors serving as paid consultants to drug or medical device companies, such as Fridley-based Medtronic Inc., according to a report this week in an American Medical Association journal.

The study in the Archives of Internal Medicine also found doctors and researchers receiving research grants from companies or speaking on their behalf, as well as owning stock in firms selling or developing drugs or devices.

‘Imagine if the Twins were playing the Yankees, and the umpires are stockholders for the Yankees,’ said Dr. Eric Campbell, one of the study’s authors, who is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

A total of 277 of the 498 individuals involved in crafting 17 clinical practice guidelines for the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology reported a conflict.

The panels that create these guidelines include experts who evaluate scientific evidence and then recommend how to treat heart conditions. The guidelines may ultimately influence how patients are treated, including what drugs or devices are deployed and whether insurance will pay for […]