Of the most notable cohort studies only two; Atherosclerosis Risk in the Community (ARIC) and the National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey (NHANES) included a sizable cohort of African American women (10,5). This is unfortunate because the results of ARIC and NHANES have identified a worrisome risk factor pattern for African American Women. The ARIC study found a disproportionately higher prevalence of some cardiac risk factors in African American women (10). The ARIC cohort consisted of 14,026 black and white men and women 45 to 64 years of age (2,298 of whom were black women) with no prior history of myocardial infarction or stroke at baseline. The study included four separate communities in the United States between 1987-1997 and included 7-10 years of follow-up. Results of this study revealed that although traditional risk factors for coronary disease were similar in both black and whites, hypertension was a particularly strong risk factor in black women (10).