Well, to date I have NOT heard of anything to indicate better health
or better longevity in angoras.  What I've heard of so far sounding
indicative of perhaps similar health and longevity or those slightly
reduced, but that is NOT a careful sample nor is it statistically
significant, so basically it's one of those "Who knows?" types of things.
There are certain malformations which are more common among angoras
(though I suspect the very malformed never make it to sale) such as
facial or cranial malformations, or malformation of the nostrils which
can cause upper respiratory vulnerability or discomfort.  These have
been discussed on Ferret-Genetics in Yahoogroups.
 
It's amazing how many appearance changes carry along health consequences
so breeders must always be aware of that.  For example the mink Aleutian
coloration genetics (for which Aleutian Disease is named since ones with
that coloration are more vulnerable) creates a syndrome which causes
great disease vulnerability in general:
 
PDF at
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/93/12/5905
which I linked to by selecting full text for
Complementation of the beige mutation in cultured cells by episomally
replicating murine yeast artificial chromosomes.  Perou CM, Justice MJ,
Pryor RJ, Kaplan J Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Jun 11; 93(12): 5905-9
at Hubmed
Aleutian is similar to Chediak-Higashi syndrome in humans, a rare
autosomal recessive for humans and these genetic disorders create a great
vulnerability to disease in general.
 
Note that even brain chemistry can be affected by some selections
made for appearance's sake alone:
Popova NK, Voitenko NN, Kulikov AV, Nikulina EM, Vishnevetskaia GB,
Trapezov OV.
[The effect of the pleiotropic action of single-locus (pp) and dual-locus
(aapp) mutation of mink fur color genes on serotonin metabolism in the
brain]
Genetika. 1994 Nov;30(11):1513-5. Russian.
PMID: 7533738 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
 
Popova NK, Nikulina EM, Voitenko NN, Abgustinovich DF, Trapezov OV.
[Effect of a single-locus mutation of the silver-blue color allele in
mink on the dopaminergic system of the brain]
Genetika. 1996 Mar;32(3):452-4. Russian.
PMID: 8723640 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
 
Voitenko NN, Trapezov OV.       Related Articles, Links
[Effect of four mutations (Cr,S,S(H),h) in genes for mink coat color
on brain monoamine oxidase]
Genetika. 2001 May;37(5):638-42. Russian.
PMID: 11436555 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
 
There have already been some horror stories involved with selections made
for appearance's sake alone: a patchy marking set in multiple colorations
(white, black, red, etc.) which turned out to be connected with a
circulatory malformations resulting in very early deaths, the many
problems that can be associated with panda and head-blaze markings in
ferrets with the neural crest disorders that cause such markings, the
terrible levels of pain and arthritis in ones who were bred with
dwarfism, the very painful teethings and need for oral surgery in those
who were bred for shorter faces, etc.
 
HEALTH, BEHAVIOR, AND LONGEVITY FIRST!
 
APPEARANCE IS SHALLOW AND MEANINGLESS WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF FIGHTING FOR
THE LIFE OF A YOUNG FERRET.  GO FOR WHAT COUNTS AND INSIST ON HAVING
HEALTH AND LONGEVITY RECORDS OF THE FAMILY LINE INCLUDING RELATIVES
WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
[Posted in FML issue 4199]