The study was part of a collaborative project on minority health, The Epidemiology, Drug Resistance, and Therapy of Tuberculosis in a Multi-Ethnic Inner City Population with a High HIV Seropositivity Rate. The 1993 Report of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, encouraged the NHLBI to establish minority centers to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The concept for the initiative was developed by the NHLBI staff and approved by the September 1992 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council. The Request for Applications was released in October 1992.