Heart disease is one of the main killers of African-Americans, who have a higher mortality rate than whites. But there are variations in the occurrence of heart disease among African-Americans from different regions of the country and different parts of the world. Those who immigrated to New York from the South had a much higher death rate from heart disease, and blacks from the Caribbean had a much lower rate...a lower rate even than whites. NPR's Joanne Silberner says the report suggests that factors ranging from diet to cultural and social conditions are more important than genes.
Copyright 1996 NPR
