Low mortality from ischemic heart disease among urban blacks in South Africa.
Age- and sex-specific circulatory mortality rates among urban blacks and whites in South Africa in 1977 were compared using newly available census data. Mortality for cerebrovascular, hypertensive, and ischemic heart diseases differed markedly in the two races. Deaths due to cerebrovascular and hypertensive disease were always more common in blacks, whereas deaths attributable to ischemic heart disease were consistently greater among whites, by a factor that varied according to age, from 10-18 in men and 2-9 in women. These results suggest that hypertension is a common cause of death among urban blacks in South Africa but that it is not commonly associated with ischemic heart disease. The continuing low prevalence of ischemic heart disease among urban blacks is striking and may not be explained entirely by the levels of known risk factors.
D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000401:mortality; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000401:mortality*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013019:South Africa; D014505:Urban Population