PROFILES

Dr. Flora Sam
A-HeFT Investigator
To her two small daughters, she is their ‘mom’, the one “who makes potions in the laboratory to make people feel better.”  But Dr. Flora Sam is a doctor to her patients. Together with her colleagues at the Cardiomyopathy Program of Boston University Medical Center, they see about 800 heart failure patients in an average month.  Nearly all of them are African Americans and all of them are very ill.  “We see the spectrum of disease and inadequate care that leads to heart failure. They have hypertension, diabetes, renal disease, we often see obesity and by the time the patients are referred to us, they need a lot of care,” says Dr. Sam. “I know that throughout their lives many of my patients haven’t received good health care.  When they come here, they receive the medical attention they need. I like to talk to my patients and I like to listen to them.  How they feel and how they are matters a great deal to me.” Her interest in heart failure was sparked as a second-year resident in the transplant unit at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, a few years after completing medical school in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Many years later, following postgraduate training and practice in cardiology, cardiomyopathy and transplant at Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston and Boston Medical Center, Dr. Sam’s involvement as an investigator in A-HeFT provided the opportunity to focus on heart failure--in a way that had never before been possible.  Because it was the largest trial ever conducted among African Americans with heart failure, the significance of BiDil added to a regimen of all modern therapies given to black heart patients was striking.

“One of my patients, whom I’ll call Mr. B, shares the same October birthday with me.  He was in the study and on a small dosage of BiDil. And even despite a long-standing diagnosis of end-stage kidney disease, we saw his overall functional status improve very soon after he began the BiDil treatment. Mr. B and his wife are kind, dignified people. He is a military veteran and it is important and good to be able to offer him this level of care.”

Dr. Sam has just finished reading The Persistence of Memory, a novel about growing up in South Africa, where she and its author, Tony Ebrile, spent their childhoods during apartheid. “The book resonated with me. I was reminded that the shadows of apartheid were cast in many directions. As Asians, we saw bigotry. We couldn’t vote and public schools were off limits to us. Different hospitals served different racial groups. The diseases treated in those racially separate hospitals were unquestionably connected to poverty and inadequate care,” she recalled.  “BiDil is important to me because I have a huge interest in the health care of minorities through my life and professional experiences. African Americans’ disparate health care is very real thing and now we can begin to do something about it.”

* Patient experiences may vary.   BiDil is available only by prescription.  Only a healthcare professional can decide whether BiDil is right for you.   Please see important safety information and full prescribing information at  www.bidil.com.

Information for Patients about BiDil®

BiDil is approved for use in addition to routine heart medicines to treat heart failure in black patients, to extend life, improve heart failure symptoms, and help patients stay out of the hospital longer.  There is little experience in patients with heart failure who experience significant symptoms while at rest.  Most patients in the clinical study of BiDil received routine heart failure medicines.

Important Safety Information

Tell your doctor about any allergies you have, especially if you’re sensitive to nitrates, such as nitroglycerin tablets or isosorbide dinitrate (Sorbitrate® or Isordil®).  BiDil has a nitrate component, so you need to let your doctor know.

Tell your doctor if you’re taking any erectile dysfunction or pulmonary hypertension drugs, like Viagra®/Revatio™ (sildenafil), Levitra® (vardenafil) or Cialis® (tadalafil).  Mixing these with BiDil may cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, fainting, chest pain, or heart attack.

Also tell your doctor if you are taking any medication to decrease blood pressure because when taken with BiDil, blood pressure may become too low.

Drinking alcohol when taking BiDil could make you feel very lightheaded.  We recommend that you try to avoid drinking alcohol while taking BiDil.

It is possible you’ll get headaches, especially at first.  For some patients, Tylenol® (acetaminophen) helps ease the discomfort.  Keep your doctor posted on your headache progress and Tylenol use; he or she may want to adjust your dosage.

If you experience dizziness, call your doctor.  Please make sure to tell your doctor about any of the signs or symptoms mentioned below or about any unusual events that worry you.

Drinking less fluids than your doctor recommends or losing fluid due to diarrhea, sweating, or vomiting may cause low blood pressure, lightheadedness, or fainting.  If fainting occurs, stop taking BiDil and contact your doctor immediately.

Lightheadedness may occur when standing, especially after sitting or lying down.

If you experience any achy and/or swollen joints, unexplained fever for more than a few days, skin rashes, chest pain, prolonged weakness or fatigue (even after a good night’s sleep), or any other unexplained signs or symptoms, make sure to tell your doctor as they may be signs of a serious medical condition.

You may also experience rapid heartbeat that could lead to chest pain or aggravate chest pain, or numbness or tingling in the hands or feet.

Sorbitrate is a registered trademark of AstraZeneca LP; Isordil is a registered trademark of Bioavail Corporation; Viagra is a registered trademark and Revatio is a trademark of Pfizer Inc.; Levitra is a registered trademark of Bayer Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline, and Schering-Plough; Cialis is a registered trademark of Lilly ICOS LLC.  Tylenol is a registered trademark of McNeil Pharmaceuticals, a Division of McNeil PPC, Inc.

Please see full Prescribing Information for BiDil.

BiDil is a registered trademark of NitroMed, Inc.