As you read the success stories of heart valve surgery patients ([1] John Turan), it is great to see that medical care can have an incredibly positive impact on heart valve disease.

However, it seems like everywhere I turn these days, reports of bad medicine are all around me. In the past few days, I’ve read or watched terrible stories about:

• Trasylol and heart surgery
  
• Drug administration mishaps that endangered and/or resulted in the unfortunate passing of several children
• Negligent surgical preparations alleged to be the source of [2] Stephanie Kuleba’s recent fatality

During a [3] 60 minutes report about Dennis Quaid’s children, I heard a troubling statistic. The actor revealed that over 100,000 hospital deaths occur each year as a result of human error. That’s more fatalities than AIDS, breast cancer and auto accidents combined.

Earlier today, I was reading [4] Forbes magazine. Consider these statistics published in the March 10 edition cover story called, “Stop That Patient”:

• One in 200 patients who spends a night or more in a hospital will die from medical error.
• One in 16 patients will pick up an infection while in the hospital.

What’s the point of this blog?

Please know… It is not to scare you - the patient or caregiver.

However, it is to echo a thought I have made several times within this website and my book. Take the time to find the best care for you. Selecting a surgeon and hospital should not be a convenient process. Please do the proper due diligence to ensure consensus about your condition and the surgical treatment required to fix your valvular disease ([5] mitral regurgitation, etc.). That means second opinions.

As my research shows, the [6] statistics for a successful heart valve replacement or heart valve repair are very encouraging. Let’s make sure nothing prevents your successful surgery.

Keep on tickin,

[7] To learn more about Adam’s heart valve surgery book, click here.