Abstract
A study was undertaken to test the utility of a strict Bayesian formulation for the diagnosis of coronary disease. Using known probabilities of the disease for men and women in four different age groups and by estimating the probabilities of disease in patients with four important risk factors, we were able to estimate the probability of coronary disease in 512 different subsets of patients. We found that it was not possible to rigourously apply Bayes formula because neither the probability of the risk factor given the disease nor in patients without disease was obtainable in the medical literature. We conclude that to use Bayes formula without equivocation in coronary diagnosis does not appear possible in the present state of statistical knowledge. Rather, an expert system in the form of a knowledge-base would appear to be more achievable.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 455-461 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Revista portuguesa de cardiologia : orgao oficial da Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia = Portuguese journal of cardiology : an official journal of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| State | Published - May 1990 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine