This is a retrospective review of all carotid endarterectomies (CEA) (n=91) done from 1993 to 2002 at an inner-city hospital (Group I). This group was compared to a randomly selected group of patients (n= 445) treated at a private hospital (Group II). The same high-volume surgeons performed CEAs at both hospitals. The majority of Group I patients (71.4%) were members of racial minority groups. They were also more likely to be younger (p