Linda Montgomery • February 26, 2024
HCMAs first Hill Day

Hill Day, February 15th, 2024

This year’s Hill Day Event during Heart Month was a success by all measures. It was our first year participating, and while it was a success, we’ve already come up with ideas on how to make it even better next year.  This is what the HCM Community does – make something good and make it better!

Hill Day is an event that takes place on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.  It was a day for us to generate awareness and education about HCM for our lawmakers and elected officials.  

Hill Day by the numbers

29 Volunteers joined us in Washington D.C.

4 Staff members : Lisa, Elena, Stacey, and Linda.  Let’s not forget our staffers who stayed at home to be able to fix, set, re-route, etc things for us while we were there.  A special shout-out to Julie, Olivia, Ross, Sabrina, and Kim.

4 Board members : Rosemary Conlon, Billur Dowse, Kevin O’Connor, and Bill Rossi.

68 People  attended the briefing.

3 COE clinicians:  spoke on our behalf – Dr. Martin Maron, Ms. Deatrah Debose, NP, and Dr. Steve Ommen.

3 Amazing individuals  spoke on how HCM has touched their lives.  Jared Butler  from the NBA’s Washington Wizards spoke about his HCM journey while continuing to play basketball at the professional level.   Amy Blair , with her bittersweet story of the loss of her daughter Jillian.  A tragic story of loss, yet our hearts are so grateful to Amy for sharing Jillian’s story.  Amy’s motivation is to prevent anyone else from experiencing the loss she has.    Marsha Rosenberg , 81 years young shared her story about how, with good care, you can live a healthy, long, fulfilled life.  She is a great example of this; she is an extraordinary example of how to look and feel decades younger than you are!

15 Meetings conducted  with legislators and/or their staff.

HCMA Blog

April 30, 2025
Medical Management means using medicines and other non-invasive therapies to relieve symptoms. It's exciting that new treatments for HCM are being studied and that the FDA approved Camzyos in 2022! HCM can cause various symptoms depending on how stiff the heart is, how much scarring (fibrosis) there is, and whether there is obstruction. Some people have no noticeable symptoms. Common symptoms are chest pain/pressure, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fatigue, palpitations, and brain fog. Syncope (fainting) is dramatic but not as common as the other symptoms. Medications are the first-line treatment for symptoms of HCM. If patients can't take one class of medication, they can try a medication from a different class. Here are some medications used to treat HCM and what they're for: Beta Blockers - make your heart beat slower and relax better. They allow the heart to fill more completely between beats. They can lower blood pressure and relieve symptoms. Calcium Channel Blockers - used to lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate. May reduce symptoms from obstruction in HCM. Myosin Inhibitors - cause the heart to beat with less force. They may reduce obstruction and septal thickness in some patients. Camzyos (mavacamten) is the first of this class of medication. For more information, click HERE . Antiarrhythmics - help to restore normal rhythm in the heart. Blood Thinners - anticoagulants and anti-platelets make it harder for blood to clot. They are prescribed to reduce the risk of stroke. This risk is higher in patients with afib, aflutter, and artificial heart valves. Diuretics , or "water pills," help the kidneys get rid of extra water and salt, reducing swelling in the body. Sodium Channel Blockers - may reduce gradient in obstructive HCM and can treat chest pain. Some also act as antiarrhythmics. Antibiotics - treat or prevent bacterial infections. In HCM, they may be given before dental work to prevent infective endocarditis. To learn more and see the side effects of these medications, click HERE .
On a green background, a line drawing of a head that has complicated arrows pointing outwards
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