If the drug, called BiDil, gains US Food and Drug Administration approval, it will be the first time the agency has recognized medical differences between blacks and whites in such a broad category of disease and approved a drug specifically for a racial group.
Heart failure is the single biggest medical problem that blacks face.
They are twice as likely to suffer from it as are whites. Nearly five million Americans experience heart failure - usually a weakness in the heart muscle that reduces the pumping of blood to the rest of body. About 20 percent of them are African-American. The lack of proper circulation results in a buildup of fluid in organs, triggering severe congestion in tissues and swelling, most often in arms and legs. Heart disease causes patients to become extremely tired and short of breath.