Brian grew up in the Eastern Shore region of Maryland in a relaxed, loving, and academically driven home. Adopted as a newborn, he carried a deep sense of being chosen by his parents, which fueled a lifelong drive to make them proud. Both held doctorates and strong core values of education, loyalty, and care. As a teen, Brian poured himself into his schoolwork and the gym, feeling he had to prove he was worth the choice his parents had made.
In late adolescence and into early adulthood, subtle but troubling changes appeared. At the gym, exercises that once felt easy now left him exhausted, drenched in sweat, and short of breath. He brushed it off and ignored friends’ recommendations to seek help until the day he blacked while doing an incline press, dropping 60 lb. dumbbells on his chest and cracking several ribs. The painful and scary event finally pushed him to pursue medical care.
What followed was a long and confusing diagnostic journey of primary care visits, local cardiologists and tests without definitive answers, until a cardiac specialist diagnosed what had been haunting Brian, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). After evaluation by an HCM specialist, Brian’s care team recommended a septal myectomy to remove part of his thickened septum. Based on his individual risk factors, they also recommended an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).
Living with HCM reshaped everything in Brian’s life. His ICD at the time was painful, distorted his chest, disrupted his sleep and made him feel self‑conscious of his physical appearance. Brian watched his peers move forward in their careers, marriages, and general independence. Concerned about what forms of exercise were safe, he became less active and steadily gained weight, causing his HCM symptoms to be even more challenging. Climbing a flight of stairs, for example, became a struggle. After feeling he should no longer live alone, Brian moved back home with his family. His own frustrations surrounding his HCM caused him to ignore important symptoms, until one day in a grocery store parking lot, Brian’s ICD shocked him, literally and emotionally, and changed his perspective.
Over time, Brian established anchors in his daily life and medical care: a new ICD with updated technology that has the ability to pace and shock, meditation to calm his body when he can audibly hear his heartbeat in his ears, a gastric sleeve surgery to help manage weight, and connection with a supportive network through attending community webinars hosted by the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association where he finally met others like himself. After stepping into a caregiving role for his mom who was on dialysis treatment, and grounded in a loving relationship with his girlfriend and her kids, Brian has reframed HCM not as the end of his life, but as a different path through it: more intentional, deliberate, and full of purpose, connection, and a future family of his own.
Disclaimer: Brian’s story reflects his individual experiences with HCM. Symptoms, risks, and treatment experiences vary. Not everyone with HCM requires surgery or an ICD. People living with HCM should speak with an HCM specialist about treatment and physical activity
