Quick Read: Life Expectancy Gap Narrows Between Blacks, Whites

The positive news from this new study is that life expectancy for black men and women is on the rise. The study attributes it to fewer deaths from HIV/AIDS and heart disease. Still, the medical director of the Los Angeles Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Group tells the Los Angeles Times that studies show blacks are treated less aggressively than whites for heart problems. Another sobering fact: an uptick among middle-aged white men in unintentional poisonings from drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin.

Hospital Bed (Flickr/WFIU Indiana Public Media)

Source: Latimes

The gap in life expectancy between black and white Americans is smaller than it has ever been, thanks largely to a decline in the number of deaths resulting from heart disease and HIV infection, a new analysis has found. That's the good news.