Just about everyone involved with HCM has heard the name Dr. Barry J. Maron. Dr. Maron has devoted his entire career to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and has been perhaps the physician most associated with HCM, having gotten his start in the 1970s at the National Heart Institute.
In a brand new autobiographical essay by Dr. Maron, he retells his recent experience being diagnosed and treated for heart failure.
When Dr. Maron experienced edema, difficulty lying flat, and trouble breathing, he rationalized it all away until he experienced a terrifying and life threatening episode, and even then, he decided to call an Uber to take him to the hospital instead of an ambulance!
Once hospitalized, doctors were able to get to the root of his problem and treat Dr. Maron appropriately. Having received the proper care, he is now feeling much better.
Dr. Maron’s article concludes with three main takeaways:
- Physicians should not diagnose themselves;
- Heart failure is treatable; and
- Listen to your cardiologist and live a healthy lifestyle!
“Heart Failure” seems to me to be a very strange term. Simply if your heart fails you cannot live, yet people have said they have heart failure.
What exactly does “heart failure” mean?
I’m living with HCM, so I know what that means.
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Heart failure means that your heart isn’t pumping as well or efficiently as it should. It is a treatable condition, so people can live for many years with heart failure. It doesn’t stop working all at once.
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