Since launching this blog 5 years ago, I have only recommended one book about cardiac care.

Today, I am thrilled to increase my book recommendations by 100% with an emphatic endorsement of “Heart 411″ by Dr. Marc Gillinov and Dr. Steven Nissen. This 550-page guide to heart health is packed with helpful facts, practical guidance and patient stories that will definitely help the 82 million Americans that are diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.

What I enjoyed most about the book was the pace at which Dr. Marc Gillinov and Dr. Steven Nissen intertwined research, evidence and data along with their own clinical experiences that stretch across 50 years of medical practice and 10,000 patients.

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Over the past few months, many patients and caregivers in our community have been fortunate to meet Kelly Nugent and Mitch Friedman at Heart Valve Journals, our social network.

As Kelly and Mitch prepared for heart valve surgery due to aortic regurgitation and mitral regurgitation, they openly shared their experiences, thoughts, feelings and emotions about their pursuit of healthy hearts.

For example… Yesterday, Kelly wrote in her journal:

“I want to thank everyone who is praying for me, from my friends who let me know that I am in their prayers, to the people that are part of prayer requests and pray circles, you are truly beautiful people.” — Kelly Nugent

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After I was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis and regurgitation, I chose the Ross Procedure for my heart valve replacement surgery. While this approach to aortic valve replacement is more complex, I found the benefits of this procedure outweighed the risks.

Since launching this website, I have become familiar with a handful of surgeons who are considered Ross Procedure gurus. In particular, Dr. Paul Stelzer, from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, is widely regarded as one of the most experienced Ross Procedure surgeons in the United States.

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During my research for my book and this website, I have been fortunate to meet several incredible surgeons. Dr. Marc Gillinov is one such surgeon.

I first heard the name “Dr. Marc Gillinov” from his former patients. One after the other, my inbox filled up with glowing testimonials for Dr. Gillinov. His patients used words like friendly, excellent, caring and outstanding to describe the Judith Dion Pyle Chair in Heart Valve Research at The Cleveland Clinic.

Above, you can see a picture of Dr. Gillinov and several patients from our community — Anita, Patrick, Bill, Jeffrey, Don, Sandy, Fran, and Sam — who chose Dr. Gillinov as their surgeon. (To read 25+ patient recommendations for Dr. Gillinov, click here.)

Over the years, I have been fortunate to learn much more about this extraordinary man who practices at The Cleveland Clinic.  So you know, Dr. Gillinov has performed over 4,300 cardiac procedures. Of those, more than 2,600 have included valvular repair or replacement. In addition, Dr. Gillinov is widely respected for his research, his 200+ publications, his inventions and his humble ways.

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During the past twelve months, this global community of patients and caregivers actively discussed many topics that have impacted our heart valve surgery experiences. As the year winds down, I thought it might be helpful to review all of these posts and highlight the top 10 stories that garnered the most attention during 2011.

So, without further ado, here are your “Top 10 Heart Valve Surgery Blogs of 2011″:

10. Much of our ongoing discussions focus on the proper management of patient expectations before, during and after surgery. To to help Denise prepare for her mitral valve repair surgery, we answered her question, “Do All Patients Get A Cardiac Catheterization Prior To Heart Valve Surgery?”. With over 25 comments from our community, this post was very helpful to Denise and many other patients preparing for surgery.

9. An interesting question from Alice about the recovery from heart valve surgery also generated a significant amount of traffic. In “What Are Those BIG Heart Shape Pillows Used For?”, Dr. Eric Roselli offered some clinical insights about these humongous, red pillows given to patients after surgery.

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