Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

I just received an email from Roger, a recent Ross Procedure patient and reader of my book.

Roger raises some interesting points, so I thought I would include this as an email bag blog.

Roger’s comments and questions are:

I am now 20 weeks post op and I just had my annual physical today with my family dr. BP 116/70, heart rate in the 70s, blood work good so that all seems reassuring.

I am back to running about 3.5 miles at a 10 min pace. Per your suggesions, I have been monitoring my heart rate while running and trying to keep that in the 150 range.

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Earlier today, I received a question that reads, “Do you have a cat scan of the aorta? How are cat scan aorta images used during diagnosis?”

I’m not sure I completely understand this questions. But, it turns out that I just found a cat scan image of the aorta.

But first, I thought we all might want to know a learn a little more about what a cat scan is and how cat scans are used relative to heart valve surgery.

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Yes. It’s true.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had a very serious heart disease condition.

I say “had” because Schwarzenegger’s heart problem has since been fixed.

Although there are many rumors that the Governator’s heart disease condition was caused from steriod use, reports actually suggest that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s heart disease condition was congential.

Arnold Schwarzenegger And Dr. Vaughn Starnes
Celebrate The Governator’s 10 Year Heart Surgery
Anniversary at USC Medical Center

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I just received an email that asks, “What do valves in the heart do?”

Considering the complexity of the body and your heart, it’s a great question.

Often times I find that answering this question helps both heart valve surgery patients and caregivers.

The answer to the question, “What do heart valves do?”, is actually pretty simple. The four valves in your heart - mitral valve, aortic valve, tricuspid valve and pulmonary valve - are used to control the flow of blood through your heart.

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