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In May 2012, U.S. News spent several days in the OR at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles. This donor heart is about to go to patient Christine Moore, a part-time receptionist at the Orange Senior Center. Moore's condition, known as restrictive cardiomyopathy, isn't completely understood, but it means that her heart just doesn't stretch properly. The situation became dire in April, after Moore gained 27 pounds of fluid weight and had trouble breathing. DARYL PEVETO-LUCEO FOR USN&WR