The primary problem in studying CHD in African American women is that there is insufficient data for resolving many of the questions related to racial and racial/gender comparisons. Determining whether or not, differences, inconsistencies and clinical paradoxes are related to chance findings, artifacts in reporting, environmental differences or important genetic and biological factors is likely to be a very complex, multifaceted task. To date, very little data on risk factors in African American women has been collected from clinical trials and national surveys. That which has been collected, has not been pooled or analyzed collectively. Clearly a first step to unveiling some of the mystery surrounding these comparisons is to develop a national screening policy that will allow for the examination all of the currently available data.