Heart doctors and makers of medical devices meeting for their annual convention here got a sobering piece of news on Thursday — two senators are asking tough questions about financial ties between the doctors and the companies.
The two lawmakers, Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, and Herb Kohl, Democrat of Wisconsin, sent a letter asking the nonprofit group that sponsors the conference, the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, for information about its financial relationships with device manufacturers and drug producers.
The senators also sent a letter to Columbia University, which has an affiliation with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. Two well-known researchers at Columbia, Dr. Martin B. Leon and Dr. Gregg W. Stone, are involved with the foundation; Dr. Leon is its former chairman and Dr. Stone its current one.
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