When I receive a patient or caregiver question that is unique and interesting, trust me… you are the first to read about it.

For example: This morning, I woke up, gave Robyn (my wife) a kiss as she left for work, made a cup of coffee and then turned on my computer. Among all the spam emails that I quickly deleted, there was a question from Bhupinder about kissing heart valve patients.

Bhupinder’s question was, “Hi Adam, Is there any risk to kiss or to smooch a heart valve patient? Please advise. Thanks! Bhupinder”

First, I had to chuckle a bit… Why?

Well. There are certain words in the English language that I thoroughly enjoy. And yes, you guessed it, “smooch” is one of those words. I don’t know why. There is something so honest, so innocent, so traditional and so cuddly about the word, smooch. That said, when I actually saw “smooch” in an email about heart surgery, I let out a “He.. He… He…”

Now, as for an answer to the question, I believe the answer is no. From what I understand, there is no risk to smooch or kiss a heart valve patient. Heart valve disease is not contagious or transmitted through human contact. While there are certain, medical terms associated with heart valve disease that suggest potential risks (e.g. [1] bacterial endocarditis infection), they are only medical terms. They are not infectious in the sense that we might think of the common cold.

I hope that helps you understand more about kissing, smooching and heart valve patients.

Keep on tickin!

[2] To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.