Presence Of Rib Notching As An Indicator Of Hypertension And Its Sequelae In Cardiovascular Diseases In An Historic African American Skeletal Population

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States and around the world. A plethora of scientific findings identify African Americans as having the highest rates of CVD in comparison to other racial/ethnic groups in the United Sates. Associated with a wide range of congenital and chronic cardiac disorders, rib notching is a pathognomonic diagnostic marker used in today's medical practice. Unfortunately, rib notching has not been studied in human skeletal collections, particularly in a collection of historic African Americans.Objective: This study presents a unique opportunity to evaluate rib notching in the Cobb Collection, a well-known collection of 987 de-fleshed human cadavers donated for research purposes between 1932 and 1969 to Howard University.