Hi, I'm interested in joining this community because my father had a triple bypass with a septal myectomy 5 years ago at the age of 78. His 9 and a half hour surgery was performed at Columbia Presbyterian, where he had an 8 day stay. A year later he underwent an Abdominal Aortic Anyurism Repair, also at Columbia, for a AAA that was discovered a few years prior to his HCM surgery (it had grown to a dangerous size). He's now 83 and in very good health, doing all things he did even 20 years ago. He's always been very active, all his life, follows the Mediterranean diet (he's from Italy). He does have a sweet tooth but never over indulges, just a little bit is fine, and he scrapes the frosting off of birthday cakes "It's too much" (the doctors got a chuckle when they heard that). Unfortunately his brother and a few other male relatives who were also active and in good shape passed away from heart disease, and we often wonder if perhaps they also had HCM. It's so important to get treatment from doctors and hospitals who have great experience with HCM, like those from Mayo Clinic, etc even if you have to travel. If you can't travel, then maybe you can ask your doctor to confer with a doctor from a major hospital? I wish everyone here the best of health and success in their HCM journey.