Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

I was just reading the New York Times when I came across a very positive story about elderly heart surgery patients.

According to a new report, “Eighty-year-olds with clogged arteries or leaky heart valves used to be sent home with a pat on the arm from their doctors and pills to try to ease their symptoms. Now more are getting open-heart surgery, with remarkable survival rates rivaling those of much younger people, two new studies show.”

To read the entire story, please click this link “Elderly Survival Rates Improve After Heart Surgery”.

And, if you would like to read additional information about elderly heart surgery patients, please click on the following links:

• Joseph Riley Gets Aortic Valve Replacement at 88 With Edwards Sapien Valve
• At 83, John De Falco Is Bored With Valve Replacement Recovery
• Is Heart Surgery Advisable For Elderly Patients?
• Critical Aortic Stenosis For Elderly Patients

I hope this information helps you better understand heart surgery for elderly patients

Keep on tickin!

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

I just received this interesting email from Margaret. She had mechanical valve replacement surgery almost 27 years ago. I thought you would appreciate her thoughts about surgery and the clicking noise of mechanical valve.

Adam,

I just received your book and so far it’s great. I’m not like most people who is buying this to understand what to expect but to see what has changed.

I’m 39 yrs old and had my aortic valve replaced when I was just 13 years old. Yes, that is correct 13 years old. When I had it done, I was given just a month to live without it. So far, I have yet to speak or hear of anyone with a valve as long as I have.

This March will be my 27th anniversary with the same mechanical valve. I have been told recently that it will need to be replaced within the next 5 years. I always knew that I would need to have it replaced at least once in my life time. Even though I have been through this before I seem to have more fear now that I’m older and understand what is going on.

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Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of shopping on eBay.

Robyn (my wife) is pregnant and I’m finding that most baby/nursery products are 20%-30% cheaper on eBay than at Babies R Us or Right Start.

Earlier today, I was curious… So, I typed “heart valve” into the search field at eBay. Guess what I found?

I could not believe it. I actually found an auction for a complete mechanical heart valve sizer kit! In case you didn’t know, heart valve sizers are used by surgeons during operations to measure the patient’s valve size.

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The day before patients enter the hospital, they usually pack a travel bag.

Some patients mistakenly pack a big bag of stuff as if they were vacationing in Hawaii. The reality? You will only need a few, personal items during your time in the hospital.

In thinking about it… I believe the invisible, interpersonal things that patients bring to the hospital are incredibly important. That said, here are my top 5 invisible things that patients should pack in their minds:

1. Courage - Yes. You will need a whole lot of courage throughout your hospital stay. Even though statistics suggest your surgical result will be good, that will not stop the fear, uncertainty and doubt that impacts most patients. Courage became one of my best friends in the ICU and in room 550 at USC Medical Center (my hospital). Continue reading this post »

I stress A LOT of things for patients to “watch out for” as they prepare for heart valve surgery. One of the most critical, potential pitfalls in this complex process is poor surgeon selection. As we all know, there is risk in any type of surgery. But, finding the right cardiac surgeon (with extensive experience) can minimize that risk.

It’s a sad fact… I receive emails from caregivers whose loved ones did not make it through surgery. Those are the toughest emails to read. The sadness and anger is overwhelming. Even with all the good happening in the heart valve community, mistakes are made.

On that point, I just read an unfortunate story about Latricia Satterwhile, a mitral valve surgery patient. I am posting this story to emphasize the need for patients and caregivers to actively research their medical staff and facility. Here is Latricia’s story from the Herald-Leader newspaper in Lexington, Kentucky:

A $9.8 million civil verdict was returned in a lawsuit filed by a Lexington hairdresser who became paraplegic after a routine heart surgery.

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