IB 
Union Calendar No. 432 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6829 
[Report No. 118–520] 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize and support the creation 
and dissemination of cardiomyopathy education, awareness, and risk as-
sessment materials and resources to identify more at-risk families, to 
authorize research and surveillance activities relating to cardiomyopathy, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 14, 2023 
Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Mr. KIM of New Jersey) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
MAY 22, 2024 
Additional sponsors: Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. POSEY, and Mr. DOGGETT 
MAY 22, 2024 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on December 14, 2023] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize and 
support the creation and dissemination of cardio-
myopathy education, awareness, and risk assessment ma-
terials and resources to identify more at-risk families, 
to authorize research and surveillance activities relating 
to cardiomyopathy, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cardiomyopathy Health 
Education, Awareness, and Research, and AED Training 
in the Schools Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘HEARTS Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. CARDIOMYOPATHY HEALTH EDUCATION, AWARE-
NESS, AND RESEARCH, AND AED TRAINING IN 
SCHOOLS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Public Health Service Act is 
amended by inserting after section 312 (42 U.S.C. 244) the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 312A. MATERIALS AND RESOURCES TO INCREASE 
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS OF CARDIO-
MYOPATHY 
AMONG 
SCHOOL 
ADMINISTRA-
TORS, EDUCATORS, AND FAMILIES. 
‘‘(a) MATERIALS AND RESOURCES.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of the HEARTS Act 
of 2024, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall de-
velop public education materials and resources to be dis-
seminated to school administrators, educators, school health 
professionals, coaches, families, guardians, caregivers, and 
other appropriate individuals. The materials and resources 
shall include— 
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‘‘(1) information on the signs, symptoms, and 
risk factors associated with high-risk cardiac condi-
tions and genetic heart rhythm abnormalities that 
may cause sudden cardiac arrest in children, adoles-
cents, and young adults, including— 
‘‘(A) cardiomyopathy; 
‘‘(B) long QT syndrome, Brugada syn-
drome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventric-
ular tachycardia, short QT syndrome, and Wolff- 
Parkinson-White syndrome; and 
‘‘(C) other high-risk cardiac conditions, as 
determined by the Secretary; 
‘‘(2) guidelines regarding the placement of auto-
mated external defibrillators in schools, early child-
hood education programs, and child care centers; 
‘‘(3) training information on automated external 
defibrillators and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and 
‘‘(4) recommendations for how schools, early 
childhood education programs, and child care centers 
can develop and implement a cardiac emergency re-
sponse plan. 
‘‘(b) DISSEMINATION
OF
MATERIALS
AND
RE-
SOURCES.—Not later than 30 months after the date of the 
enactment of the HEARTS Act of 2024, the Secretary shall 
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disseminate the materials and resources developed under 
subsection (a) in accordance with the following: 
‘‘(1) DISTRIBUTION
BY
STATE
EDUCATIONAL 
AGENCIES.—The Secretary shall make available such 
materials and resources to State educational agencies 
to distribute— 
‘‘(A) to school administrators, educators, 
school health professionals, coaches, families, 
guardians, caregivers, and other appropriate in-
dividuals, the information developed under sub-
section (a)(1); 
‘‘(B) to parents, guardians, or other care-
givers, the cardiomyopathy risk assessment devel-
oped pursuant to section 312B(b)(1); and 
‘‘(C) to school administrators, educators, 
school health professionals, and coaches— 
‘‘(i) the guidelines described in sub-
section (a)(2); 
‘‘(ii) the training information de-
scribed in subsection (a)(3); and 
‘‘(iii) the recommendations described 
in subsection (a)(4). 
‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION TO HEALTH DEPARTMENTS 
AND
PROFESSIONALS.—The Secretary shall make 
available the materials and resources developed under 
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subsection (a) to State and local health departments, 
pediatricians, hospitals, and other health profes-
sionals, such as nurses and first responders. 
‘‘(3) POSTING ON WEBSITE.— 
‘‘(A) CDC.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, 
through the Director, shall post the mate-
rials and resources developed under sub-
section (a) on the public Internet website of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion. 
‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The 
Director is encouraged to maintain on such 
public Internet website such additional in-
formation regarding cardiomyopathy as 
deemed appropriate by the Director. 
‘‘(B) STATE
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCIES.— 
State educational agencies are encouraged to cre-
ate public Internet webpages dedicated to cardio-
myopathy and post the materials and resources 
developed under subsection (a) on such webpages. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘cardiomyopathy’ means a heart 
disease that affects the heart’s muscle (myocar-
dium)— 
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‘‘(A) the symptoms of which may vary from 
case to case, including— 
‘‘(i) cases in which no symptoms are 
present (asymptomatic); and 
‘‘(ii) cases in which there are symp-
toms of a progressive condition that may re-
sult from an impaired ability of the heart 
to pump blood, such as fatigue, irregular 
heartbeats (arrhythmia), heart failure, and, 
potentially, sudden cardiac death; and 
‘‘(B) the recognized types of which include 
dilated, hypertrophic, restrictive, arrhythmogenic 
right ventricular dysplasia, and left ventricular 
non-compaction. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘Director’ means the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
‘‘(3) The terms ‘early childhood education pro-
gram’, ‘elementary school’, and ‘secondary school’ 
have the meanings given to those terms in section 
8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘school administrator’ means a 
principal, director, manager, or other supervisor or 
leader within an elementary school, secondary school, 
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State-based early childhood education program, or 
child care center. 
‘‘(5) The term ‘school health professional’ means 
a health professional serving at an elementary school, 
secondary school, State-based early childhood edu-
cation program, or child care center. 
‘‘SEC. 312B. ACTIVITIES RELATING TO CARDIOMYOPATHY. 
‘‘(a) REPORT ON CDC NATIONAL CARDIOMYOPATHY 
ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of the HEARTS Act 
of 2024, the Secretary, acting through the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 
submit to Congress a report on findings generated 
from existing activities conducted by the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention to improve the under-
standing of the prevalence and epidemiology of car-
diomyopathy across the lifespan, from birth to adult-
hood, with particular interest in the following: 
‘‘(A) The natural history of individuals 
with cardiomyopathy, in both the pediatric and 
adult population. 
‘‘(B) Estimates of cardiomyopathy-related 
emergency department visits and hospitaliza-
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tions, in both the pediatric and adult popu-
lation. 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Subject to paragraph (3), 
the report submitted under this subsection shall be 
made available to the public. 
‘‘(3) PRIVACY
PROTECTIONS.—The Secretary 
shall ensure that this subsection is carried out in a 
manner that complies with all applicable privacy 
laws under Federal and State law. 
‘‘(b) IMPROVING RISK ASSESSMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS 
WITH CARDIOMYOPATHY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 
and make publicly available a cardiomyopathy risk 
assessment for health care providers and individuals. 
Such risk assessment shall, at a minimum, include 
the following: 
‘‘(A) Background information on the preva-
lence, incidence, and health impact of cardio-
myopathy, including all forms of cardio-
myopathy and their effects on pediatric, adoles-
cent, and adult individuals. 
‘‘(B) A worksheet with variables and condi-
tions for an individual or health care provider 
to use in assessing whether an individual is at 
risk for cardiomyopathy. 
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‘‘(C) A worksheet with variables and stages 
of progression for an individual or health care 
provider to use in assessing whether and to what 
extent cardiomyopathy has progressed in an in-
dividual. 
‘‘(D) 
Guidelines 
on 
cardiomyopathy 
screenings for individuals who are at risk for, or 
have a family history of, cardiomyopathy. 
‘‘(2) STAKEHOLDER
INPUT.—In carrying out 
paragraph (1), the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention shall seek input from external 
stakeholders including— 
‘‘(A) representatives from national patient 
advocacy organizations expert in all forms of 
cardiomyopathy; 
‘‘(B) representatives from medical profes-
sional societies that specialize in the care of 
adults and pediatrics with cardiomyopathy; and 
‘‘(C) representatives from other relevant 
Federal agencies. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘cardio-
myopathy’ has the meaning given to such term in section 
312A. 
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‘‘SEC. 312C. CARDIOMYOPATHY RESEARCH. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, may 
expand and coordinate research and related activities of the 
National Institutes of Health with respect to cardio-
myopathy, which may include research with respect to— 
‘‘(1) causation of cardiomyopathy, including ge-
netic causes and molecular biomarkers; 
‘‘(2) long-term health outcomes in individuals 
with cardiomyopathy, including infants, children, 
teenagers, adults, and elderly individuals; and 
‘‘(3) studies using longitudinal data and retro-
spective analysis to identify effective treatments and 
outcomes for individuals with cardiomyopathy. 
‘‘(b) NONDUPLICATION.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that any research and activities related to cardiomyopathy 
under this section do not unnecessarily duplicate activities, 
programs, or efforts of other agencies and offices within the 
Department of Health and Human Services. 
‘‘(c) NIH REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of the enactment of the HEARTS Act of 2024, the 
Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the National 
Institutes of Health, shall submit to Congress a report— 
‘‘(1) outlining the ongoing research efforts of the 
National Institutes of Health regarding cardio-
myopathy; and 
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