Trends in Racial Disparities in Care

To the Editor: The Special Articles by Jha et al., 1 Vaccarino et al., 2 and Trivedi et al. 3 (Aug. 18 issue) generate serious misconceptions. Reducing the disparity in health outcomes between black patients and white patients is very important. The approach that will substantially reduce racial disparities in health is a reduction in the prevalence and improved treatment of key risk factors, 4 especially elevated blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and cigarette smoking. Blacks and whites with low levels of cardiovascular risk factors have extremely low rates of death from cardiovascular disease and low total mortality. 5 There has been a very substantial decline . . .