Heart failure is the single biggest medical problem that blacks face.
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. 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. The trial will, for the first time, include a significant number of African-American women, she said. Participants will use either BiDil or a placebo with their current medications. The combination replaces depleted levels of nitric oxide in blacks far better than it does in whites - a distinction that may be based on genetics, Loberg said.