I just came across a fantastic email from Dr. Richard Schmidt which touches on the unique, patient process of healing. As you can read below, Dr. Schmidt recently had double heart valve repair and is anxiously awaiting a fully healed sternum to resume his life passions. Here is what Richard wrote to me:

Dr. Richard Schmidt, 66, Recently Had Aortic & Mitral Valve Repair

Hi Adam,

I had mitral valve repair and an aortic valve repair on November 3rd, 2009. I have recovered well and am anxious to resume all of my pre-operative activities. I had a complete sternotomy and thought I would be completely healed in 3 months.

After that time, I planned to go skiing in March.

My cardiologist said, “No way.”

I thought, “What a bummer!”

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The consolidation trend within the heart valve industry continued yesterday as ATS Medical was purchased by Medtronic in a cash deal valued at $350 million. So you know, that is a 54% premium to ATS’ market capitalization on Wednesday. As a result, ATS’s stock soared $2.59 to $4.00.

In a statement, Medtronic said that the ATS acquisition would further help its ongoing expansion of cardiac surgery devices, including heart valve treatment. This marks the third significant acquisition for Medtronic in the heart valve space during the past fourteen months. As you might recall, Medtronic purchased minimally invasive specialists CoreValve and Ventor Technologies last February for over $1 billion.

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My dad just sent me this brain teaser called, “The Color Test”.

It took me 3 attempts before I figured it out. Try and get 100% on your first try! Click this link or the image below to play “The Color Test”.

Let me know how you did by clicking here and leaving a comment!

Have a great weekend!

Emma just emailed me an interesting question about aortic stenosis and the rate at which this form of heart valve disease progresses.

Aortic Valve Stenosis – Narrow Heart Valve

She writes, “Hi Adam – I’ve recently been diagnosed with moderate aortic stenosis even though I have no symptoms. My latest echocardiogram shows a valve area of 1.2 square centimeters. For now, my cardiologist says we’re in ‘Monitor Mode’ with the chance of surgery in the future. Do you know of any clinical studies that document the rate at which aortic stenosis progresses? I’d like to know how many years before I may need heart valve surgery. Thanks, Emma”

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Earlier this week, I spoke with Dr. Giovanni Ciuffo, a minimally invasive and bloodless heart surgery specialist, at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. (As you may remember, Dr. Ciuffo wrote “Aortic Stenosis… The Neglected Child”.)

Dr. Giovanni Ciuffo, Heart Surgeon, Mount Sinai Hospital

During our discussion, Dr. Ciuffo shared several clinical insights about traditional, median sternotomy approaches, as well as, minimally invasive procedures (e.g. mini-thoracotomy). After our discussion, Dr. Ciuffo forwarded me an article he recently published titled, “Scarless Heart Valve Surgery For Women”.

Heart Surgery Scar From Traditional Median Sternotomy

As I reviewed Dr. Giuffo’s article, I found the article to be full of interesting and educational information — especially for woman. That said, here are the highlights from this article:

A larger number of women are becoming aware of the impact of heart disease in their lives. When heart surgery is proposed for their valve or coronary disease, fears related to the operation and its consequences are deeply felt.

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