Elevations of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and serum cholesterol level were accompanied by an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) in Evans County, Georgia. This was true for white men, black men, and white women. Black women did not exhibit an increase in incidence with the rise in risk factor levels. The white male excess in CHD incidence persisted over that of the black male at each categorical level of blood pressure and cholesterol studied. White women appeared to have CHD incidence rates generally similar to those of black women at lower levels of risk factors; at higher levels of risk factors, the white female CHD incidence rate was larger than the black female.