The disease of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – a silent killer for otherwise healthy kids — is drawing new attention from U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th).

Pallone has sponsored a bill that would require the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others to develop educational materials and resources to raise public awareness of cardiomyopathy.

The disease, which can cause sudden cardiac arrest, is behind several high-profile deaths of high school athletes in New Jersey, including Kittim Sherrod of Edison High School in 2009 and John Taylor Babbitt of The Pingry School in 2006. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can go undetected by standard physical examinations.

Pallone’s bill before Congress is not new, as he has sought to get it passed for more than a decade. “The hope is that more individuals would be diagnosed and treated before they fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest,” Pallone said.