HCM-ers: Introduce yourself or just say hi

Welcome to the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) group on Mayo Clinic Connect - a place where you can connect with others, learn about living HCM, share experiences and exchange useful information.

I invite you to follow the group. Simply click the follow icon image-f6386d0357e2 on the group landing page

I'm Colleen, and I'm the moderator of this group, and Community Director of Connect. I look forwarding to welcoming you and introducing you to other members.

Why not start by introducing yourself here?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Support Group.

@margie11

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.

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I have been involved in HCM for the past 10 years and those folks I have met who did not have theirs done at a high volume center have a higher incidence of a second surgery or they never got the relief they sought. Your father sounds like a great guy - glad he doing well.

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@eelnaloblob18

Hi, I'm Janet, and I was diagnosed with HCM almost 20 years ago after my 18 year old son was diagnosed with it. My mom died young from it and so did her grandfather. I have very little information about my dad's side, but he did have a triple bypass in his 60s. It seems I may have to have a myectomy. My question is this: do they perform myectomies at the Florida Mayo Clinic (I live in Florida), or will I have to go to Minnesota? I have called the Florida clinic and e-mailed them, but haven't received a response or appointment from them yet. But they did e-mail me that Mayo charges 15% above my Medicare which is with BCBS. I've heard that Cleveland Clinic also does HOCM myectomies, but they don't accept my insurance as in-network either. I'm still waiting for a response from them as well. Are Mayo and Cleveland clinics rated equally high for these myectomies?

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Hi Janet,
I'm on this and hope to answers for you soon about Florida.

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@eelnaloblob18

Hi, I'm Janet, and I was diagnosed with HCM almost 20 years ago after my 18 year old son was diagnosed with it. My mom died young from it and so did her grandfather. I have very little information about my dad's side, but he did have a triple bypass in his 60s. It seems I may have to have a myectomy. My question is this: do they perform myectomies at the Florida Mayo Clinic (I live in Florida), or will I have to go to Minnesota? I have called the Florida clinic and e-mailed them, but haven't received a response or appointment from them yet. But they did e-mail me that Mayo charges 15% above my Medicare which is with BCBS. I've heard that Cleveland Clinic also does HOCM myectomies, but they don't accept my insurance as in-network either. I'm still waiting for a response from them as well. Are Mayo and Cleveland clinics rated equally high for these myectomies?

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Thank you for the info. Do you know the surgeon/s at Mayo in Minnesota who perform the most myectomies? I found one surgeon at Cleveland Clinic who has done 2000 +, but I haven't found this info yet from Mayo.

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@eelnaloblob18

Hi, I'm Janet, and I was diagnosed with HCM almost 20 years ago after my 18 year old son was diagnosed with it. My mom died young from it and so did her grandfather. I have very little information about my dad's side, but he did have a triple bypass in his 60s. It seems I may have to have a myectomy. My question is this: do they perform myectomies at the Florida Mayo Clinic (I live in Florida), or will I have to go to Minnesota? I have called the Florida clinic and e-mailed them, but haven't received a response or appointment from them yet. But they did e-mail me that Mayo charges 15% above my Medicare which is with BCBS. I've heard that Cleveland Clinic also does HOCM myectomies, but they don't accept my insurance as in-network either. I'm still waiting for a response from them as well. Are Mayo and Cleveland clinics rated equally high for these myectomies?

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Thank you. I did receive a reply that convinced me that going to Mayo in Minnesota would be a better outcome due to higher volume of patients undergoing myectomies there.

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@margie11

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.

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Thanks Colleen, I'll watch it soon! You know our family had never heard of HCM before my father was diagnosed, so it was all quite scary to us. It's one thing to hear advice from a doctor, but quite another thing to hear about first hand experiences from patients. What a wonderful thing this forum is, thanks for creating it.

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@margie11

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.

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Thanks mbcube, we're grateful he's doing well. I look forward to your advice on HCM, with your experience it sounds like you're going to be a good resource here!

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@eelnaloblob18

Hi, I'm Janet, and I was diagnosed with HCM almost 20 years ago after my 18 year old son was diagnosed with it. My mom died young from it and so did her grandfather. I have very little information about my dad's side, but he did have a triple bypass in his 60s. It seems I may have to have a myectomy. My question is this: do they perform myectomies at the Florida Mayo Clinic (I live in Florida), or will I have to go to Minnesota? I have called the Florida clinic and e-mailed them, but haven't received a response or appointment from them yet. But they did e-mail me that Mayo charges 15% above my Medicare which is with BCBS. I've heard that Cleveland Clinic also does HOCM myectomies, but they don't accept my insurance as in-network either. I'm still waiting for a response from them as well. Are Mayo and Cleveland clinics rated equally high for these myectomies?

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I'm glad to hear you got a reply. Yes, the largest number of myectomies are done in Rochester. You can read more testimonials from Mayo patients in this discussion, and how the travel was not the barrier to excellent care http://mayocl.in/2ef1nMc

You may appreciate seeing these 2 webinars with HCM experts from Mayo Clinic
- Steve R. Ommen, M.D., and Hartzell V. Schaff, M.D., talk about Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and the Surgical Treatment Apical Myectomy http://mayocl.in/2dmWhdI
- Dr. Dearani Dr. Joseph Dearani, cardiac surgeon talks about pediatric congenital heart disorders http://mayocl.in/2dLzuK9

Hope this helps.

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Hi, I just want to say how much I appreciated the webinar on apical cardiomyopathy. I am in UK so am not able to access the facilities you have in the US but still very much appreciate being able to "listen in" on the webinars you have.
Knowledge reduces fear. Thank you

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@eelnaloblob18

Hi, I'm Janet, and I was diagnosed with HCM almost 20 years ago after my 18 year old son was diagnosed with it. My mom died young from it and so did her grandfather. I have very little information about my dad's side, but he did have a triple bypass in his 60s. It seems I may have to have a myectomy. My question is this: do they perform myectomies at the Florida Mayo Clinic (I live in Florida), or will I have to go to Minnesota? I have called the Florida clinic and e-mailed them, but haven't received a response or appointment from them yet. But they did e-mail me that Mayo charges 15% above my Medicare which is with BCBS. I've heard that Cleveland Clinic also does HOCM myectomies, but they don't accept my insurance as in-network either. I'm still waiting for a response from them as well. Are Mayo and Cleveland clinics rated equally high for these myectomies?

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Hello @eelnaloblob18 , I work with the heart practice for all three Mayo sites. Did you get all the information you need? If not, I will follow up with our cardiac surgeons. Thank you for your insightful questions. It is good that you are being proactive in doing research about outcomes.

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