(HealthDay News) -- Hispanic Americans with even a small amount of plaque build-up in their carotid artery -- the vessel that supplies blood to the brain -- are up to four times more likely to suffer or die from a stroke compared to those with clear arteries, a new study finds.

"These results are important for developing stroke and vascular prevention programs for all, but also for certain ethnic groups such as Hispanics, who represent the fastest growing minority population in the U.S.," study author Dr. Tatjana Rundek, of the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami in Florida, said in a prepared statement.

The research included almost 2,200 men and women who took part in the multi-ethnic Northern Manhattan Study, in New York City.

READ MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/19/AR2008031902615.html

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