Applying evidence-based medicine to current practice: a round table panel discussion

Over the past decade, an expanding body of epidemiological and clinical trial data has been collated, culminating in the development of guidelines designed to help physicians make decisions about intervention and the intensity of treatment, based on objective assessments of the overall level of risk for cardiovascular disease. However, guidelines are not prescriptive and allow physicians leeway in interpretation. Thus, it is of clinical interest to explore some of the issues that may influence the use of these guidelines in clinical practice. This paper summarises a round table panel discussion that highlighted the usefulness of current guidelines, but also demonstrated that these guidelines, and the evaluation of cardiovascular risk, need to be used with care and always interpreted in the light of sound clinical judgement.