Why I’m Participating And Why I’m Asking for Your Help
My name is Maier Bianchi. I’m a husband, a father of five, an entrepreneur, and someone living with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).

For much of my life, I didn’t know I had heart disease.

I struggled physically for years and assumed I simply wasn’t fit enough. Then a doctor heard a heart murmur during a routine exam. That discovery eventually led to an echocardiogram, a diagnosis of obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, and in December 2022, elective open-heart surgery.

In many ways, I consider myself one of the lucky ones.

HCM affects approximately 1 in 250 people, yet roughly 80% don’t know they have it.

For some families, the first indication that HCM exists is a sudden cardiac arrest or the unexpected death of someone they love.

I got an opportunity many people never receive: I found out.

I found specialists who understood my disease. I had access to an HCMA-recognized Center of Excellence. I received treatment. I underwent surgery. I gained access to newer medications. And along the way, I found an organization and a community that helped me understand what was happening to me.

That organization is the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (HCMA).

Turning My Diagnosis Into a Mission
After my surgery, I made a decision.

If I had been fortunate enough to find my disease and receive the care I needed, I was going to spend part of my life helping other people get that same opportunity.

Today I volunteer as an HCMA Ambassador and participate in the organization’s legislative advocacy efforts.

I also founded Hearts of Commerce, an initiative bringing heart-health awareness into the eCommerce and technology community where I have spent much of my professional life.

The mission is simple:

Awareness saves lives.

• We can encourage people to learn their family heart history.
• We can encourage people experiencing symptoms to talk to their doctors.
• We can put AEDs in workplaces and train people in CPR.
• We can support patients and families navigating heart disease.
• And we can help organizations like the HCMA continue doing the work that makes all of that possible.

$10,000 in 2026
Last year, this community helped me raise more than $6,000.

This year, I’m setting the bar higher:

$10,000 for the HCMA.

And I’m personally putting my money behind that commitment.

I will personally match donations of $250 or more.

I’m doing that because I don’t want to ask anyone to believe in something I’m not willing to invest in myself.

But please don’t think you need to donate $250 to make a difference.

Give $5.

Give $10.

Give $25.

Share this page.

Tell someone what HCM is.

Ask someone you love whether heart disease runs in their family.

Every single one of those actions matters.

And on October 11, 2026, I’ll be at the Bighearted 5K in Denville, New Jersey, alongside patients, families, clinicians, volunteers and people who simply believe that fewer families should have to discover HCM through tragedy.

If you’d like to join my team and be there with me, I would be honored to have you.

I can’t change the fact that I have HCM.

But I can decide what I do because of it.

This is what I’ve decided to do.

Thank you for helping me turn my diagnosis into something that can help someone else.

— Maier Bianchi
Founder, Hearts of Commerce
HCMA Ambassador