Lisa • March 9, 2023
In Her Own Words: Lisa Salberg advocates with a heart.

Between 1 in 250 to 1 in 500 people are impacted by Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition that took the life of Lisa Salberg’s sister. Lisa, her daughter and many other family members live with this condition. That’s why she’s dedicated her life to advocacy.

“Heart disease has always been a heavy weight on my shoulders, but I never anticipated the role I would play in supporting others who were also affected. As the founder of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (HCMA), I’ve dedicated my life to spreading awareness of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the heart muscle disease that causes the muscle to become thick and unable to pump blood normally. It’s the most common of all genetic heart conditions, but throughout my life, I saw the lack of education and resources surrounding the disease firsthand. That’s why I knew I needed to make a change.

At age 12, I was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy when little to no information was available surrounding this disease. Several of my family members struggled with heart-related issues; others were also diagnosed with HCM. With constant hospital visits, medical treatments, and a stroke at 21, I struggled to find control over this disease for the majority of my life.

My life took a turn in 1995 when my sister, Lori Anne Flanigan-Munson, passed away at 36 from medical errors and complications related to HCM and overall mismanagement of the disease. Her death was something that should have never happened and could have been prevented with the right guidance and information.

Because of the untimely passing of my sister, I decided to take control of my condition and help others in similar positions. After the losses I experienced, I felt called to do something so others wouldn’t have to go through the same. I decided to start a website that could provide information to others with much-needed information, support and advocacy.

HCMA Blog

August's Topic is Newly Diagnosed

By Sabrina Cuddy • August 1, 2025
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Call to ACTION! Urge Congress to Invest in Medicaid and Medicare! No Cuts to these crucial programs!

By Julie Russo • July 31, 2025
Sixty years ago, Medicaid and Medicare were established when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments into law. The programs were a larger part of Johnson's "War on Poverty" agenda to combat inequality. Sixty years later, Medicaid and Medicare are under attack in ways that we could never have imagined. With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), $1 trillion was cut from Medicaid and Medicare―the largest health care cut in U.S. history. As a result of the budget package, more than 15 million people will lose health insurance, hundreds of rural hospitals will close, and approximately 51,000 people will die preventable deaths each year. Congress voted for this harm, and Congress can fix it. We need them to invest in Medicaid and Medicare in order to undo this damage. Click here to send a message to Congress telling them to invest in these critical programs, not cut them. OBBBA is the exact opposite of the "War on Poverty." The bill was passed with brutal cuts to health care to fund more tax handouts for the very wealthy. It took from the poor to give to the rich. The unpopularity of these cuts cannot be overstated. Eighty-three percent of the American public, including three in four Republicans, has a favorable view of Medicaid. Congress must hear from us loud and clear: reverse course, undo the harm to Medicaid and Medicare, and protect health care for more than 71 million people. Join us in sending the message to Congress to invest in these critical programs, don't cut them. 1 The Truth About the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare 2 Research Memo: Projected Mortality Impacts of the Budget Reconciliation Bill 3 Medicaid keeps getting more popular as Republicans aim to cut it by $800 billion

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!
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