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.
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