Several analyses were conducted using mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics and population and socioeconomic data from the Census Bureau. The onset of decline of ischemic heart disease in white women and Black men was analyzed in relation to geographic region, metropolitan status, and socioeconomic structure. The association between onset of decline of ischemic heart disease and its rate of decline was studied. The relationship of occupational structure and other aspects of socioeconomic structure to the rate of decline of ischemic heart disease mortality in Blacks and whites was quantified by age. Geographic variations in levels and trends of stroke mortality were described in relation to socioeconomic structure. The associations of socioeconomic structure, cardiovascular disease risk factors, blood pressure treatment, and mortality were quantified in geographic areas sampled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Socioeconomic structure-mortality trend associations for ischemic heart disease and stroke were compared to associations for all cardiovascular disease, all-cause and non-specific causes. A detailed analysis was made of socioeconomic structure-mortality associations in the United States South with special attention to impact on Black/white mortality differentials.