Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

Are you ready for some very interesting heart valve surgery trivia?

The question for today is, “When was the first successful mitral valve repair surgery?”

Your multiple choice answers are:

A. 1935
B. 1948
C. 1955
D. 1968
E. 1971

Scroll down below the mitral valve repair diagram for the answer.

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This is pretty neat…

One day, out of nowhere, I received a call from Lindsay Clark, Director of Health Programs, of the Alliance for Aging Research. If you didn’t know, the Alliance for Aging Research is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and accelerating medical discoveries.

It turns out that Lindsay’s team is currently working on some unique initiatives specific to heart valves - specifically aortic stenosis. As a result, Lindsay asked me if I would consider doing an interview to help educate patients and caregivers. I said, “Sounds great!”

If you have any interest in listening to the 15 minute interview, simply press the gray, play button below. Also, the interview was done by telephone, so you may have to turn up the sound on your computer.

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO BANDWIDTH LIMITATIONS ON MY SERVER, THIS INTERVIEW IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE. I WILL ATTEMPT TO REPOST THE INTERVIEW IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Keep on tickin!

P.S. To leave a comment, please click here.

About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. This unique book integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of 135 former valve surgery patients to help patients and caregivers better understand the problems, the opportunities and the realities of heart valve surgery. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.

My wife, Robyn, loves the television show Grey’s Anatomy.

That said, on Thursday nights, after Ethan goes to bed, we enjoy watching the trials-and-tribulations of the fictitious Seattle Grace Hospital.

I will admit, the writers of Grey’s Anatomy do a great job developing likable characters (Meredith, McDreamy, The Chief) that are caught in a perpetual whirlwind of personal, professional and medical drama.

However, I want to gently remind us all that Grey’s Anatomy is, to some extent, written and produced to garner ratings and large advertising budgets.

“Why the heck is Adam posting about Grey’s Anatomy?” you might be wondering.

Well, in a recent episode, one of the stories within the hour-long show was about a female patient, late-40s, who needed… Yes, you guessed it… Heart valve replacement surgery.

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Dr. Vince Gaudiani has provided us with several insightful videos in the past. As you might recall, we recently featured Dr. Gaudiani’s two-part video series about heart valve surgery. Given Dr. Gaudiani’s 25-year career as a cardiac surgeon, this video was applauded by our patient and caregiver community.

Yesterday, I learned from Dr. Gaudiani that he has created a new video titled, “How To Think About Surgical Outcomes?” Considering our ongoing discussion about (i) how to manage patient expectations and (ii) how to prepare for surgery, I found this video very, very, very interesting.

Above, you will find the first part of the video. In the next few days, I will post the second part. Simply press the play button and make sure the volume on your computer is on.

[BLOG UPDATE: TO WATCH PART II OF THIS VIDEO, PLEASE CLICK HERE.]

Thanks to Dr. Gaudiani for taking the time to share his unique experiences, thoughts and data. It should be no surprise that if you visit our Heart Surgeon Database, Dr. Gaudiani has received several glowing reviews from our patient community. (Just type “Gaudiani” in the last name search field.)

Keep on tickin!

P.S. To leave a comment, please click here.

About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. This unique book integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of 78 former valve surgery patients to help patients and caregivers better understand the problems, the opportunities and the realities of heart valve surgery. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.