Sometimes, the patient success stories I receive are so interesting, they need no introduction. That said, I hope you enjoy Scott’s unique story:

Hello Adam,

I have had the intention of writing you numerous times and something always seemed to come up and delay my writing. But today is the day! It is also 2 weeks since my surgery and I feel great!

Scott With Lindsey, Nick and Fred (the Teddy Bear)

First of all let me address the number one reason I am writing to you.  It is to say a BIG THANK YOU!  Thank you Adam for not only your book but also your website and blog. I have spent much time reading and researching all three for the last month and a half. It is also the first place I came across Dr. Kevin Accola, the surgeon I would ultimately chose to do my aortic valve replacement.

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A 51-year-old Idaho woman has had to have three of four heart valves replaced, thanks to the now-banned diet drug, fen-phen. In a recent interview, Cindy Cartwright urged others like her who had taken fen-phen to undergo a medical evaluation, regardless how much time had passed since they had used the dangerous medication.

Cindy Cartwright – Triple Heart Valve Replacement Patient

Fen-phen was an anti-obesity medication (an anorectic) which consisted of two drugs: fenfluramine and phentermine. Fenfluramine, and later, a related drug, dexfenfluramine (Redux), was marketed by American Home Products, now known as Wyeth, but were shown to cause potentially fatal pulmonary hypertension and heart valve problems. Because of these serious side effects, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) asked Wyeth to take both drugs off the market in 1997.

Cindy Cartwright began taking fen-phen 23 years ago to drop some weight she had gained following the birth of her youngest child. She only took the drug for six months, but more than two decades later, Cartwright’s health has suffered because of fen-phen.

For a little more than a year, Cartwright had been experiencing breathing difficulties that forced her to slow down while walking. According to her doctor, fen-phen caused her heart to expand almost reaching the chest walls. Inside, leaflets of her valves were supposed to be preventing blood from going backwards. Instead the valves weren’t coming together at all.

Because of the damage, Cartwright under went a triple heart valve replacement surgery early last week at Portneuf Medical Center. According to her cardiologist, having three of four heart valves replaced is uncommon. In most cases, valves can be repaired, but the damage caused by fen-phen is usually too severe.

“Unbelievable to think that my valves had just wore out because I’m a healthy person, a young person. It was hard to believe,” Cartwright told a local reporter.

According to her doctor, such damage, even decades after minor fen-phen use, is not unheard of. Following cardiac rehab, Cartwright is expected to make a full recovery. Considering herself fortunate, Cindy Cartwright has some advice for anyone who used fen-phen in the past: see a doctor right away – the sooner the better.

Keep on tickin’ Cindy!

As I suffered from a calcified heart valve prior to surgery, I definitely perked up when I read this email from Cheryl of Ontario, Canada.

Calcified Aortic Valve (Aortic Stenosis)

Cheryl wrote to me, “Hi Adam – I have heard that some patients have been cautioned about the overuse of calcium supplements (including Rolaids) considering potential damage to heart valve leaflets.  As so many patients, especially women, use supplements, I was curious to know your thoughts about calcium supplements. My calcium use was part of my history when I underwent a mitral valve repair and I wasn’t given any warning. What about other antacids such as Tums? Is this a cause of valve failure? Thanks, Cheryl”

Cheryl Irvine, Mitral Valve Repair Patient

After reading Cheryl’s question, I was really curious. That said, I reached out to Dr. Eric Roselli, M.D., one of the Cleveland Clinic’s leading heart valve surgeons.

In discussing this topic with Dr. Roselli, he noted, “Although it is a theoretical concern, there is no direct evidence to support the connection between excess calcium intake and the risk of degenerative aortic stenosis.”

Dr. Eric Roselli, Heart Surgeon, Cleveland Clinic

Specific to Cheryl’s situation, Dr. Roselli noted, “If Cheryl had a mitral valve repair, I suspect she probably had degenerative mitral valve disease (commonly referred as mitral valve prolapse) and there is not even a theoretic concern for her and the use of calcium supplementation. If her primary care doctor believes she should be on calcium or vitamin D supplementation for potential osteoporosis, then – by all means – the history of a mitral valve repair for degenerative disease should not be a contraindication.”

Calcified Mitral Valve

I hope this helped all of us learn more about calcium supplements and heart valve disease.

Keep on tickin!

Medical advances specific to transcatheter heart valve repair and heart valve replacement are exciting. Considering the patient benefits of these non-invasive technologies, it is expected that these approaches to heart valve treatment could create new, billion dollar products.

That said, it is very safe to assume that transcatheter valvular treatment is already competitive. To develop a competitive advantage, industry stalwarts are taking the appropriate steps to defend their intellectual property. Often referred to as the “secret sauce” in business circles, intellectual property is typically protected through patents and other legal means.

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I just came across the touching story of William and Teresa Luna. As you will learn in this video, William needed surgery to correct a badly functioning mitral valve. But, after having had two previous open-heart surgeries, William’s doctors told him he was a “high risk patient” and that he would most-likely not survive another.

However… Thanks to Dr. Jai Raman, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Chicago, a minimally invasive mitral valve replacement was performed to treat William’s mitral valve regurgitation which was causing leaky heart valve symptoms.

Dr. Jai Raman – William’s Surgeon

Unlike his prior surgeries, William’s breastbone was not split or spread open during this procedure. Instead, Dr. Raman used a small incision on the side of William’s chest, also known as a mini-thoracotomy or port access approach.

Keep on tickin’ William and Teresa!