Despite encouraging declines over the past three decades, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one cause of death in the U.S. A number of risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke have been identified; however, relatively few population-based studies have examined CVD in a large group of African-Americans. Existing evidence indicated that death rates in Mississippi are the highest in the nation and particularly high among African-Americans. Between 1980 and 1995, the decline in CVD death rates has been the slowest among African-American men and women in Mississippi relative to other groups in the state and nation. The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) is a single-site prospective epidemiologic investigation of CVD among approximately 6,500 African-Americans ages 35 to 84, from Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area. The primary objective of the JHS is to investigate the causes of CVD in African- Americans to learn how to best prevent this group of diseases in the future. More specific objectives include: (1) Identifying factors which influence the development and worsening of CVD in African-Americans, with an emphasis on Manifestations related to high blood pressure (such as enlargement of the left ventricle of the heart, coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke and disorders affecting the blood vessels of the kidney). (2) Building research capabilities in minority institutions at the undergraduate and graduate level by developing partnerships between minority and majority institutions and enhancing participation of minority investigators in large-scale epidemiologic studies. (3) Attaching minority students to and preparing them for careers in public health and epidemiology. This project serves as the Coordinating Center where all data collected during the study will be managed, analysis of the data will be performed, and community involvement will be coordinated.
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