Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States. Although not long ago it was widely believed that African-Americans had a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease than whites, few now believe this to be the case. However, despite parity in the incidence of cardiovascular disease, there remains a substantial Black-white difference in the utilization of tertiary care cardiovascular services (TCCS), such as coronary angiography (CA), coronary bypass surgery (CABG) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Race differences have been found with great consistency across studies of varying design.