Ethnic Minorities and Coronary Heart Disease: an Update and Future Directions.

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the USA. Overall, heart disease accounts for about 1 in 4 deaths with coronary heart disease (CHD) being responsible for over 370,000 deaths per year. It has frequently and repeatedly been shown that some minority groups in the USA have higher rates of traditional CHD risk factors, different rates of treatment with revascularization procedures, and excess morbidity and mortality from CHD when compared to the non-Hispanic white population. Numerous investigations have been made into the causes of these disparities. This review aims to highlight the recent literature which examines CHD in ethnic minorities and future directions in research and care.