The first claim above is pretty broad; coming up with a single reference to support it would be hard, and coming up with a wide range of references time-consumi

The first claim above is pretty broad; coming up with a single reference to support it would be hard, and coming up with a wide range of references time-consuming. But as examples: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2268793 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2268793 (2.5x more coronary artery bypasses per capita in the US than in Canada in 1988; admittedly somewhat dated). http://www.pillsforall.com/blog/cardiac-stents-are-used-twice-more-in-u-s-than-in-canada/ http://www.pillsforall.com/blog/cardiac-stents-are-used-twic... I realize that's pretty weak support; I don't have anything better off the top of my head, unfortunately.