Risk perception and its association with cardiac risk and health behaviors among urban minority adults: the Bronx Coronary Risk Perception study.

Purpose: Examine the relationship among risk perceptions, health behaviors, and a measure for actual risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting/subjects: Adults from three outpatient medical clinics with at least one CHD risk factor.

Can non-medical factors contribute to disparities in coronary heart disease treatments?

Racial/ethnic and sex disparities in coronary heart disease treatment exist. We previously reported that physicians perceive non-clinical variables, such as a patient's desire for a second opinion, as affecting revascularization decisions. The results of that study are further examined here, using factor analysis to identify significant interrelationships among the non-clinical variables, which could contribute to disparities in coronary revascularization (i.