Evans County cardiovascular and cerebrovascular epidemiologic study. Introduction

This brief introduction will include a short historical note concerning the development of the Evans County study, a description of the study site, its physical and racial structure, an overview of its accomplishments and hopes for its future. The Epidemiological Study of Cardiovascular Disease developed in Evans County, Georgia, from the clinical observation that coronary heart disease appeared to occur less frequently among blacks than whites, even though hypertension was obviously more common in blacks and they consumed a higher animal fat diet. In addition there was no difference in coronary mortality by sex in the blacks although such a difference did occur in whites. The study was, therefore, basically designed to answer two questions: First, were these clinical observations valid? That is, does coronary heart disease really occur more commonly among whites than blacks living in Evans County, and, if so, what was the extent of the differences? Second,