Welcome to HCM Life

When I was fourteen, I was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. It was the summer before my sophomore year of high school, and I had to undergo a physical before I could resume school in the fall. Nothing out of the ordinary, completely routine. We scheduled the appointment, thinking nothing of it.

A week later, I walked into the doctor’s office with the confidence of an invincible teen. The nurse came into the examination room. She placed the stethoscope on my chest. “Deep breath in. And out. Deep breath in. And out.” She paused and looked into the corner of the room, contemplating. “Hold on. I’ll be right back. I’m going to go get the doctor.”

The doctor came into the room. Stethoscope touched bare skin. I shivered. “Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out.” The expression on his face showed intrigue and concern. “I think I hear a murmur. I’m going to refer you to a cardiologist and he’ll have a look.” I was nervous, yes, but I was not frightened. “It was just a murmur,” I thought. “So what if my heart whistles a little tune.”

The cardiologist’s appointment came a week later. I was run through the various tests that we all know and love. I was lathered up with jelly and rubbed, echo. I scuffled with an octopus and lost, EKG. I attempted the unyielding march of the storm trooper, stress test. From these data, an accurate picture of my heart was formed. The diagnosis: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. No weights. No sports. Uncertainty.

After I got over the initial shock of the diagnosis, I was struck by the large degree of ambiguity the cardiologist spoke of. He was not sure what types of exercises I could safely perform. He was not sure if the condition would ever even affect me in my life time. He was not sure if I would suffer sudden cardiac arrest while walking down the street. His only advice: stay vigilant. That ambiguity is the reason for this community. If we can come together, share our experiences, share our struggles, share our triumphs, share a joke, we can learn a great deal from each other and improve our lives in the process.