In a big win for heart patients, national guidelines to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy now include the first-of-its-kind medication – cardiac myosin inhibitors – as a first-line treatment.

Game-changing medical technology is on the line.

Based on Nobel-prize winning science, genetically targeted technologies take on the proteins that cause disease. The medications are administered once or twice a year to treat rare and debilitating diseases, from Duchenne muscular dystrophy to high cholesterol.

This year’s national Cardiovascular Health Policy Summit brought together patient advocates, health care providers and policy experts to discuss solutions to barriers that keep cardiovascular patients from accessing the care they need.

For some people, the first “symptom” of hypertension is a deadly heart attack or stroke. 

Cardiovascular disease stubbornly holds its place as the number one cause of death in America. But don’t be misled into thinking heart disease presents an equitable burden. It has a disproportionately high impact on Black Americans, striking them more often and more seriously, on average, than their white counterparts. 

Yet another study has found that high co-pays could restrict cardiovascular disease patients’ access to prescription drugs.