Hi Janet - I to understand what you are going through. I was playing tennis and out of nowhere I couldn't catch my breath. It took a couple of hours to completely recover. I went to the cardiologist many times, I went to pulmonary doctors, etc. It took many years to diagnose what I had. I was put on medication that did not work. I was in stage 4 of heart failure. I couldn't walk across the room without getting out of breath. I finally found a cardiologist that had a gut feeling I had HOCM. I was hard to diagnose for the tests showed nothing. My cardiologist suggested I go to the Mayo Clinic for confirmation. I went to Rochester, Minnesota. They finally diagnosed it and I had a septal myectomy with Dr. Hertzell Schaff on October 1, 2019 The reason I decided to have it at the Mayo in Rochester is they do 200 to 250 of these surgeries a year. The care at the Mayo Clinic was fabulous. I cannot say enough about the Mayo . I could feel a difference the first day. I could finally breathe. The post op is not easy but well worth it. I read a lot of stories on this website and got a lot of insight on things to do. A necessity for me was a recliner for I could not sleep in bed for quite some time. I also had issues with my back. The pain was so intense and I did take pain medication and had several massages through my hospital. I can say with all the post op issues I would do this again in a heartbeat. I now play tennis, pickleball and have no after effects. I had the surgery when I was 72. I am living a normal life again. I hope that helps and good luck to you.
Linda