Danielle George - All Headline News Staff Reporter

If approved, NitroMed's BiDil would prevent heart failure in blacks. Even with an approval for blacks only, doctors could prescribe BiDil for anyone they thought it might help.

Dr. Steven Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist and the panel's chairman says, "This was a courageous thing to do for a population that has a disproportionate burden of disease ... As a clinician, I find the evidence more than adequate for approval."

Studies indicate African-Americans are more likely than others to develop heart failure and consequently often die early from the disease.

In NitroMed's trial of 1,050 patients who identified themselves as black, BiDil reduced deaths by 43-percent.