Lisa • January 4, 2023
Responding to Sudden Cardiac Arrest: The Damar Hamlin teachable moment

Commotio Cordis appears to have occurred at the Bill’s game, Monday, January 2, 2023, with the collapse of Damar Hamlin. If you don’t know what this is… sudden cardiac arrest occurs after a chest blow. While uncommon, it speaks to the need for AEDs on all playing fields. The HCMA shares in the hopes for a positive outcome for this young man.

Sudden Cardiac arrest occurs out of the hospital nearly 1000 times a day from many different root causes.

Are you prepared to respond at home, at work, at the gym, or during a game? AEDs and well-done CPR can be all the difference between life and death. Create an action plan today. Download the Dr. Drill kit here.

Pictured here is Dr. Mark Link, a pioneering researcher on commotio cordis and dear friend.

I’m proud of all the researchers, clinical experts, advocates, patient safety experts, and all my heart warriors who have helped advance the science and change public policy to prepare to respond to sudden cardiac arrest. We never know when it will occur; however, prompt use after CPR and an Automatic External Defibrillator AED can significantly improve survival.

These situations can bring back very traumatic memories for families who have had personal experiences with sudden cardiac arrest. Let’s hope that all the preparation, planning, practice, and persistence will pay off for this young man… and the others who will not capture the public’s attention.

Learn more about putting together a plan for your team using the Dr. Heart Drill to prepare
for cardiac arrest response

Here are the basics of the “Dr. Heart” drill. Know the chain of survival and YOUR part in it:
● Early Access to the patient, including early recognition of the condition and call for
help. Chance of survival increases by 5%
● Early Basic Life Support (Rescue Breathing and External Chest Compressions), Chance
of survival increases by 10%
● Early Defibrillation (An electric shock to restart the heart) Chance of survival increases
by 75%
● Early Advanced Life Support (Drug therapies to maintain condition)

Do you know the difference between a Sudden Cardiac Arrest and a Heart Attack?

HCMA Blog

Lisa's Letter - July Newsletter

By Lisa Salberg • July 3, 2025
Summer, greetings to all our big-hearted friends As July approaches, our focus is already on the fall and preparing for some major events, including our annual meeting coming up in October. July will also find us on the west coast in Seattle conducting a regional patient education meeting as part of our big-hearted warrior tour. We have been following the generic drug quality issue in the United States very closely and encourage you to watch the series starting with our Hill briefing in April and following with the additional webinars with our partners at Medshadow and the People's Pharmacy, and of course the ProPublica series of articles. See them all here . We are happy to have a new team member on board - we welcome Pam as our coordinator of both our All Hearts Collaborative and Hearts and Minds project. Over the next few months, you're going to be learning more about these two amazing initiatives and how we are working to provide better services for big hearts regardless of where you live, so we are meeting all of our big-hearted friends where they are. Please stay tuned for updates from these projects coming soon. We are also creating new volunteer opportunities and engagements that we hope will make it easier for you to participate in spreading the message of the importance of diagnosis, the importance of community readiness related to CPR and AED use and, of course, helping patients get to their ultimate diagnosis and getting them on the proper treatment pathways. This July I would like to recognize all of the special birthdays in my family, including HCMA Center of Excellence coordinator, Stacey Titus-brown and my daughter Rebecca Salberg. It's a milestone birthday for Becca - it’s hard to believe I have a 30-year-old child. Wishing you all a happy and healthy summer. Go build some memories!
An official seal in black & red with white letters that say HCMS Recognized Centers of Excellence

July's Topic is COE Care at the HCMA

By Sabrina Cuddy • July 3, 2025
Getting HCM care at a HCMA Recognized Center of Excellence has a positive impact on patient's outcomes. Find out why in the post by Health Educator Sabrina Cuddy

Pro Publica Releases Results of FDA Investigation

By Erica Friedman • June 26, 2025
Investigative journalists Debbie Cenziper, Megan Rose, Brandon Roberts and Irena Hwang from Pro Publica and NPR have concluded a 14-month long investigation into the quality of generic drugs coming into the United States from overseas. Among the many voices that spoke up for American patients was HCMA Founder and CEO, Lisa Salberg who has felt the effects of low-quality drugs personally. Salberg believes that fixing this problem is something we can do, even in this time, when even health care is highly politicized. Read the key takeaways from ProPublica’s 14-month investigation into the FDA’s oversight of foreign drugmakers in Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs .
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