Yang S, et al. - In this cross-sectional study of participants (n=2,938) from Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, researchers assessed the link between natriuretic peptides (NPs) and endothelial function as determined by flow-mediated dilation. They also looked at how NP concentrations contribute to racial variations in endothelial function. The study sample was 34% Caucasian, 20% African-American, 20% Asian-American and 26% Hispanic. Participants had no cardiovascular disease at baseline. Among African-Americans and Chinese-Americans, findings revealed a link between lower NP levels and worse endothelial function. Variations in vascular function may in part be due to a comparative NP deficiency in some racial/ethnic groups.