"Heredity plays a major role in determining the blood lipid profile and heart rate variability of blacks and whites, two major risk factors for coronary artery disease, researchers say.

'There are some interesting ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk factors, including the fact that blacks tend to have higher HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and lower triglycerides, which is an advantage, and we suspect it is due to genetic influences,' says Dr. Catherine L. Davis, clinical health psychologist at the Medical College of Georgia.

Coronary artery disease rates in the United States are similar or lower in blacks yet blacks have higher mortality rates. "