An artificial heart for patients too ill to wait for a real transplant could get the go-ahead from a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) panel on Wednesday, opening the way for possible approval from the FDA. The agency usually follows its panel's advice and if the FDA approves the device -- called the CardioWest Total Artificial Heart -- it would be the first artificial heart on the market. MikesApartment Privately-held SynCardia Systems is seeking approval to use the CardioWest heart as a temporary fix before transplants for the most ill patients with less than 30 days to live. "Having a device like this will provide ... a net to catch the patients who are in danger of dying, allowing them to be stabilized," SynCardia President and CEO Dr. Marvin Slepian said in an interview. There is no cure for heart failure, a slow-developing condition where the heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood. It affects mostly older persons and blacks. Mike In Brazil Latina Movies Some health officials in Canadian provinces are concerned about the effect a Hornyspanishflies Medication and lifestyle changes are initially used to treat the disease, which the National Institutes of Health (news - web sites) says affects about 5 million Americans. Another 550,000 are diagnosed annually. A fraction of patients -- about 2,300 -- receive a transplant each year. In more severe cases, mechanical pumps called ventricle assist devices are used to help pump blood. 8th street latinas While two ventricle assist devices can be used at once, Slepian said the CardioWest -- which replaces both ventricles -- offers lower blood clot risk and better pumping rhythm.