Earlier this month, Dr. Marc Gillinov – one of the leading heart valve surgeons from The Cleveland Clinic – held an exclusive, online chat with our patient and caregiver community. Thanks to your interactive participation, this event was an overwhelming success!!!

Today, I am excited to announce that the written transcript of Dr. Gillinov’s chat, “Advancements In Heart Valve Surgery”, is now available for free download. Simply click here to download the 27-page transcript.

Thanks again to The Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Gillinov and, of course, all of the patients and caregivers who attended the event and submitted questions.

Keep on tickin!

There is nothing better than waking up, enjoying a cup of coffee, turning on the computer and finding a patient success story in my inbox.

Today, I received a patient success story all the way from Portugal. It’s about Filomeno Faustino’s recent aortic valve replacement with a Carbomedics Top Hat mechanical device. Here is what Filomeno wrote to me:

Filomeno Faustino – Nine Days After Valve Surgery

Dear Adam,

Recently, my aortic valve was replaced because I had a bicuspid aortic valve caused by a genetic problem. I have attached a picture which shows me nine days after surgery.

Read the rest of this entry »

Since launching this website in 2006, our community has grown way, way, way beyond my initial expectation.

As a result, several new features have been created to help patients and caregivers through the heart valve surgery process. Two recently released services include the Heart Valve Surgeon Database and Heart Valve Journals.

To help you quickly access these tools, I just acquired some easy-to-remember domain names, also known as URLs. That said, here they are:

• www.HeartValveBook.com – This domain name leads to information about my book.
• www.HeartValveBlog.com – This URL takes you straight to this blog.
• www.HeartValveSurgeons.com – This domain name takes you to our heart valve surgeon directory with over 500 surgeon profiles.
• www.HeartValveJournals.com – This URL takes you to our social network that connects patients and caregivers all over the world.

I hope these new domain names help you remember and visit the different services available at this website.

As always… Thanks to all of you who emailed me with this request!!!

Keep on tickin!

Not too long ago, I received a very special email from Dr. Paul Massimiano of Inova Health Systems in Falls Church, Virginia. In the email, Dr. Massimiano informed me that Inova holds an annual patient reunion to (i) share their latest research and (ii) show Inova’s appreciation for their patients, families and friends.

As I read the note, my eyebrows jumped to the top of my forehead. I thought, “That is fannnnnnn-tas-tic! I’ve never heard of anything like this before… A patient conference? Great for Inova! Great for its patients!”

Then, to my surprise, Dr. Massimiano asked me if I would be interested in speaking at the event.

Dr. Paul Massimiano, Adam Pick, Dr. Niv Ad & Dr. John Glick

I almost fell out of my chair as I thought, “What? No way! Dr. Massimiano is asking me to speak at Inova’s patient reunion?”

My appreciation (and disbelief) for this request was compounded when, a few days later, I found myself on the phone with Dr. Niv Ad, the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Inova, and Lisa Martin, his research administrator.

As Dr. Ad and Lisa further explained the nature of this wonderful event, I knew one thing… I wanted to attend.

That said, I recently found myself in front of packed room of patients, caregivers, surgeons and researchers at the Marriott Hotel in Falls Church, Virginia – just outside of Washington, D.C.

Adam Pick Speaking At Inova’s Patient Reunion

I had such a great time interacting with Inova’s patient and caregiver community. Needless to say, it was a definite highlight of my very unexpected career as an author.

After my presentation, Dr. John Glick of the Gesundheit Institute spoke. If you are not familiar with the Gesundheit Institute, led by Dr. Patch Adams, I would encourage you to learn more about this unique organization. I was touched, moved and inspired by the global impact of Dr. Glick’s clowning passion.

Dr. John Glick Discusses “Clowning” Benefits In Russia

After the presentations, I was able to speak one-on-one with several patients and caregivers during a book signing in which I gave away several free copies of my book.

I really, really, really, really, really have to applaud Dr. Ad, Dr. Massimiano, Lisa Martin and the entire Inova team for creating such an extraordinary environment for their patient community.

As I flew back to Los Angeles the next day, the Inova reunion made me think, “Are other cardiac care centers doing anything like this? If not, maybe they should.”

Keep on tickin!

One of the primary exams used to detect heart valve disease involves the stethoscope.

While this diagnostic device, invented by Rene Laennec in 1816, is not as technologically advanced as 3D-MTEE imaging, stethoscopes can help cardiologists and surgeons quickly identify variable forms of heart valve disease.

The two most common forms of heart valve disorders are aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation. That said, have you ever wondered what stenosis and regurgitation sound like through a stethoscope?

When I was diagnosed with severe heart valve disease, I was curious. So, I located three audio files, posted by Dr. Solanki, which contain the sounds of hearts beating with (i) normal heart valves, (ii) aortic valve stenosis and (iii) mitral valve regurgitation. If you are interested, I have provided these audio clips below.

First, here is the sound of a normal heartbeat. You can hear the traditional “lub-dub” as the four heart valves open and close.

Next, here is the sound of a heart with aortic stenosis.

Finally, here is the sound of heart with mitral valve regurgitation.

I hope this helps you better understand the different sounds of hearts with normal valves and diseased heart valves – especially aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation.

Keep on tickin!