National Heart Month brings important awareness

JACKSON, Tenn. — This month brings special recognition to a needed cause.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, also known as HCM, is the most common inherited heart disease, according to the Cardiovascular and Therapy Journal.

“So hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is associated with normal longevity, if we can make the diagnosis. So it’s often referred to as the great masquerader, or as a disease that’s hiding in plain sight because those common symptoms,” said Dr. Matthew Martinez, the Director of Sports Cardiology and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy at Atlantic Health System.

“So you want to look at your family heart health history, look at your symptoms. You might have been told over your life, ‘Well, you just have a little athletically induced asthma or an innocent murmur.’ But if these symptoms persist, please speak to your health care provider about getting screened for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,” said Lisa Salberg, the Founder and CEO of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association.

Children can also have this disease and activity may be difficult to continue with.

“Every HCM patient is just a little bit different. So if you can meet with your HCM expert, they’re going to be able to develop an exercise plan that is safe for your type of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,” Martinez said.

Support is also very important to families who may be experiencing HCM.

“Being able to talk to patients every day, letting them know that we’re there for them, and they’re not alone in this journey is critically important,” Salberg said. “We have three of our HCMA recognized centers of excellence in the state of Tennessee, so you don’t have to travel too far to get to an expert. If you want to know where they are, you can go to 4hcm.org and learn about them.”

HCM Awareness Day will be February 22.

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