Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

I just received a very appropriate email from Phil about age groups and heart valve surgery.

Phil writes, “Hi Adam - On Friday, I was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis due to a bicuspid aortic valve. I’m 48 years old with three great kids and a loving wife. This was a complete shock to me and I’ve spent the weekend digesting the uncomfortable news that open heart surgery awaits me. It’s odd. Although I knew about the murmur, I was told this wouldn’t impact my heart for 10 or 20 years. Now, the doc says the valve is calcified and surgery is a must. Is heart valve surgery common for my age group? Thanks, Phil”

Phil raises some excellent points in his question. In fact, Phil’s story brings back several memories specific to my own diagnosis and surgery. Like Phil, my valve disease rapidly progressed from moderate to severe aortic stenosis. Like Phil, I had a bicuspid aortic valve. Like Phil, I was told surgery would not occur until I was in my 50’s. (FYI, at the time of my surgery… I was thirty-three.)

Picture Of Calcified Heart Valve Leaflets

Still, as we have discussed before… Every patient case is unique. As shown in the chart below, heart valve disease can impact all age categories - from newborns, to teens, to seniors, to elderly patients.

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I just received a roller coaster email from Sarah about endocarditis, swine flu (H1N1 virus) and heart valves that made my head spin. In the end, Sarah raises some great points for patients and caregivers about endocarditis, swine flu, fevers, false tests and dental work. Here is what she writes:

Adam,

I just returned from a very scary 36 hours that landed me in the hospital with fears of endocarditis.

Last Friday, I called my primary care doctor because I had been fighting a cough, congestion and fever for over a week. She did a quick test for the flu, it came up negative. I told her that I had dental work to put on a crown about 10 days earler, two days before the fever started. Well, that set up a red flag for the possibility of a heart valve infection (endocarditis) even though I had used amoxicillin as advised by my doctor before the dental work.

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The University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center just released a rather troubling study about patients who are  diagnosed with mitral regurgitation and do not receive surgical treatment. I guess this is one more reason why second opinions are so valuable. Here are the details:

Overblown fears about (i) surgical risk and (ii) lack of awareness about the risk of not operating are among the reasons only half of eligible patients were referred for mitral valve repair, according to a study by doctors at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

Mitral Valve Repair (Annuloplasty)

A leaking mitral valve, known as mitral regurgitation or mitral insufficiency, can lead to fatigue, abnormal heart rhythms with irregular heart beats, and congestive heart failure. The longer the leak continues, the more likely there will be permanent heart damage.

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Okay. It’s time for some good ole’ heart valve trivia.

The question is, “How many people are diagnosed with heart valve disease each year in the United States?”

a. 300,000 people
b. 500,000 people
c. 3,000,000 people
d. 5,000,000 people
e. 30,000,000 people

To see the answer, scroll below the picture of the diseased mitral valve leaflets:

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