The topic for this year’s “Heart Month” is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). This disease is the most common inherited cardiac disease, occurring in one in 500 people around the world. HCM is a genetic heart muscle disease that changes the way the heart functions. These changes include erratic heart beats and obstructed blood flow from the left side of the heart. The heart enlargement thickening in HCM most commonly involves the ventricular septum which is the muscular wall that separates the left and right sides of the heart. The thickening can lead to abnormal motion of the mitral valve which may obstruct the flow of blood from the left ventricle to the aorta making the heart work harder. For many people, it is symptomless and benign however, it can cause fatal arrhythmias causing sudden cardiac death.  It is estimated that approximately 600,000 Americans have this disease. People with HCM can live normal life expectancy although they should not play intense competitive sports because it remains the most common cause of sudden death in the young and in competitive athletes. New guidelines for diagnosing and treating this disorder from the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association recommend effective medical treatments for this disease. Surgical treatments are also available for people who do not respond to medical approaches. For more information go to www.heart.org.