Olivia Esposito • August 13, 2024
New Sponsor- Viz.ai

The HCMA is happy to announce our new sponsor Viz.ai  in the coming months, you will be invited to a webinar to learn more about their methods to detect the undiagnosed.  We plan to work closely with our Recognized Centers of Excellence to find the right methods of implantation of AI solutions to aid in identifying the currently undiagnosed.  Here is the abstract from ACC  “Racial and Phenotypic Variations in Detection of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy using an Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Electrocardiogram: Real World Experience,” by Matt Martinez and team at Morristown Medical Center.

Real world experience shows that the Viz HCM algorithm can be utilized with high diagnostic power, particularly for certain phenotypes (obstructive and apical) and races.

Algorithm validation study included 1,463 patients with left ventricular hypertrophy referred to the HCM center between 2018-2022 in a blinded fashion. Of these, 531 had a confirmed HCM diagnosis with mean age of 54.6 ±18 years, of which 62% were female, 81.7% caucasian, and 7.5% black, and the sensitivity and specificity were 68% and 89%, respectively. In subgroup analyses based on race, the model performed well in the black race (sensitivity, 72.5%), compared to sensitivity 66.8% in the Caucasian race. In patients with obstructive HCM (oHCM) without septal reduction therapies (n=154), the sensitivity of detecting HCM was 70.7%, while the oHCM with a history of septal reductive therapy group (n=121) had a sensitivity of 80.2%. The model performed particularly well in patients with the apical HCM phenotype. Meet the Viz team at the HCM Summit 8

HCMA Blog

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!
An official seal in black & red with white letters that say HCMS Recognized Centers of Excellence

July's Topic is COE Care at the HCMA

By Sabrina Cuddy • July 3, 2025
Getting HCM care at a HCMA Recognized Center of Excellence has a positive impact on patient's outcomes. Find out why in the post by Health Educator Sabrina Cuddy

Pro Publica Releases Results of FDA Investigation

By Erica Friedman • June 26, 2025
Investigative journalists Debbie Cenziper, Megan Rose, Brandon Roberts and Irena Hwang from Pro Publica and NPR have concluded a 14-month long investigation into the quality of generic drugs coming into the United States from overseas. Among the many voices that spoke up for American patients was HCMA Founder and CEO, Lisa Salberg who has felt the effects of low-quality drugs personally. Salberg believes that fixing this problem is something we can do, even in this time, when even health care is highly politicized. Read the key takeaways from ProPublica’s 14-month investigation into the FDA’s oversight of foreign drugmakers in Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs .
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