Blacks slower to seek treatment.

• Position: Heart Attacks

African-Americans are far less likely to seek immediate treatment for a heart attack than non-Hispanic whites, points out Julie Zerwic, associate professor of medical-surgical nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago. In a study of 239 heart-attack victims of both races 13% of African-Americans came into the hospital within one hour compared with 35% of non-His panic whites. On average, blacks waited well over three hours before seeking treatment, whereas whites delayed two hours.

"Timing is absolutely critical," stresses Zerwic. "If treatment starts within an hour after the onset o symptoms, drugs that reestablish blood flow through the blocked coronary artery can reduce mortality by as much as 50%. That number drops to 23% if treatment begins three hours later. The goal is to introduce therapy within two hours."

One key reason why individuals delay treatment is that the warning signs they experience don't resemble those they had expected. "Most heart attacks do not look at all like what one of my colleagues calls the 'Hollywood' attack--the heart attack I you see on television or in the movies," Zerwic explains. "The symptoms are not necessarily dramatic. People don't fall down on the floor. I They...