I just received a great question from Sandra about heart valve disease, enlarged hearts and valve surgery.

Sandra writes, “Hi Adam, I read that you had an enlarged heart before your surgery. I was wondering if it has returned to normal size since the surgery?  I had mitral valve repair due to severe mitral regurgitation and an aneurysm repair in July 2008. I was told that my heart was enlarged and that it may not return to its original size. I exercised quite vigorously before my diagnosis thinking that my shortness of breath was due to being ‘out of shape’. The more short of breath I became, the harder I exercised. Now, I am wondering if this caused the heart to enlarge even more. My echo at 4 months post-op showed the heart still enlarged. I go again in September for another echo and I’m curious to see if it has returned to normal. Thanks, Sandra”

Sandra is definitely correct. I did have an enlarged heart when I was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis.

In fact, I’ll never forget when my cardiologist, Dr. Bad Bedside Manner, looked at my echo and said, “Adam… The echo shows your valve has really deteriorated… Your heart has already dilated a bit… You need a new valve. And, you need it soon!”

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Here’s a great patient success story about John Doss, a 56-year old Karate instructor from Michigan. Doctor Ali Kafi, Chief of Clinical Cardiothoracic Surgery, from Detroit Medical Center, performed the aortic valve replacement.

During the video, Dr. Ali Kafi references the use of a mini-sternotomy. To give you a visual comparison of a mini-sternotomy incision versus a full sternotomy scar, please consider the pictures below. The first picture shows a patient with a mini-sternotomy.

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Sarah just sent me another interesting story about women, optimistic thinking and heart disease that was recently posted at the Los Angeles Times. Here are the details:

Many studies suggest that people who possess a sunny outlook on life tend to have better health and live longer. Here’s more evidence for the theory. A study by cardiac researchers showed that optimistic women had a lower risk of developing heart disease or dying of any cause compared to pessimistic women.

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I have the privilege of speaking with caregivers from all over the world.

As many of us know, heart valve surgery can be just as trying on the caregivers as it is on the patients. For this reason, many of their stories are both emotional and inspirational. That said, I thought you might like to read an email from Denise about her son, Eli, and his recent aortic heart valve repair:

Eli & Dr. Marc Bleiweis

Hi Adam,  I am writing to bring you up to date on Eli’s surgery and recovery. We chose to stay at Shands Hospital with Dr. Mark Bleiweis for Eli’s heart valve repair.

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I just received an interesting email from Sarah about a recent CNN story that details the impact of loneliness on cardiovascular disease. I found the story fascinating, so I posted the first few paragraphs below. I also included a hyperlink to the rest of the article after the snippet.

Here is the beginning to Ray Hainer’s article title, “Loneliness Hurts The Heart”:

People who lack a strong network of friends and family are at greater risk of developing — and dying from — heart disease, research shows. According to some studies, the risk of solitude is comparable to that posed by high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and even smoking.

Experts haven’t pinpointed exactly how social networks protect against heart disease, but there are a number of probable explanations. People who are socially isolated are more likely to drink, smoke, and get less exercise. And once someone has heart disease, friends and family often provide key support, such as picking up prescriptions, encouraging exercise, cooking healthy meals, and helping with household chores.

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