As many of you know, I had a congenital birth defect known as a bicuspid aortic valve. After thirty-three years of opening and closing, my two-cusp aortic valve became incredibly diseased with aortic stenosis and regurgitation. Ultimately, I had aortic valve replacement and pulmonary valve replacement. Following surgery, Dr. Vaughn Starnes (my surgeon) informed me that my aortic valve was very calcified as well.

That said, I just received an interesting question about mitral valve disease. Unlike most questions that focus on mitral valve prolapse and mitral valve regurgitation, this question focused on mitral valve calcification.

The question read, “Can you tell me about mitral valve calcification? Do you have any pictures of a calcified mitral valve? What are the symptoms? What is the treatment of mitral valve calcification?”

As you can see above, calcification can impact mitral valves just as it can impact other heart valves. This picture illustrates the build-up of calcium along the ring of the mitral valve. Ultimately, that impacts the integrity of the mitral valve to open and close properly.

Regarding the symptoms of mitral valve calcification, please click here to learn more. My research indicates that most symptoms of mitral valve calcification are similar to the symptoms of other forms of valve disease.

As for treatment of mitral valve calcification, that will be determined by your cardiologist and/or your surgeon. Primarily, there are two forms of surgical, mitral valve treatment – mitral valve replacement and mitral valve repair.

I hope that helps share some insight on mitral valve calcifcation.

Keep on tickin!

I recently received a great question from Jennifer (a caregiver) who is researching heart valve surgery options for her mother-in-law. Specifically, Jennifer wanted to know more about valve reoperations due to undone (loose) stitches around a replacement valve.

Jennifer’s question was pretty technical and I did not have an answer. So, I contacted Dr. Eric Roselli, a leading heart surgeon from The Cleveland Clinic, to get his perspective.

As you might imagine, Dr. Roselli had a thoughtful response to Jennifer’s question. That said, I thought you might like to read this patient case that was discussed via email earlier today.

Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know about you…

But when my first cardiologist, Dr. Bad Bedside Manner, told me that I needed open heart surgery due to my defective bicuspid aortic valve… I went into mini-shock.

Then, the stoic doctor, with the red nose, rapidly spewed a flurry of foreign words at me: calcification, leaflets, narrowing valve stenosis, regurgitation, normal ejection fraction, blah, blah, blah, blah.

“Enough medical mumbo-jumbo!” I remember thinking as Dr. Bad Bedside Manner continued to tell me that death was lurking in my future. “Please show me what you are talking about!”

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I received an interesting question about bacterial endocarditis. The question was, “Adam: Do you know of any celebrities with endocarditis?

It’s a good question. I remember when I first learned that I would need heart valve replacement surgery, it helped to know there were many, many, many, many public figures who had experienced heart valve surgery and continued to live a full, dynamic life afterwards.

As for a particular celebrity with endocarditis (the heart valve disease), I unfortunately do not know of any celebrities with endocarditis. Sorry.

That said, I didn’t give up. So, I did what most people would do – I “Google’d” it.

Unfortunately, I did not find anything linking celebrities with endocarditis. Again, sorry about that. However, if it helps you… Here are some celebrities that experienced severe heart valve defects and had to have either heart valve replacement and heart valve repair surgery.

• Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Governator) – Heart Valve Replacement
• Barbara Walters – Aortic Valve Replacement
• Robin Williams – Aortic Valve Replacement & Mitral Valve Repair
• Teppo Numinen (NHL Hockey Star) – Heart Valve Surgery

I could reference many more… But, I think you get the point – heart valve disease impacts all kinds of people.

In fact, reports suggest that over 250,000 heart valve surgeries are conducted annually. If you are a patient or caregiver, I share this with you to emphasize the point that you are not alone.

If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. And, if by chance, you know of one celebrity with endocarditis or many celebrities with endocarditis, please leave a reply below.

Keep on tickin,

Okay. This blog is NOT for those of you who are struggling with your perceived fear of heart valve surgery.

That said, feel free to read ‘Dispelling The Fear Of Heart Surgery’ before you consume the words below.

Are we good? Alright… Here goes nothing:

I just received an email about the risks of aortic valve stenosis, specifically terminal heart valve stenosis. The question read, “Is heart valve stenosis terminal?”

This is a new question for me! Personally, I’ve never any clinical evidence which suggests that the narrowing of the aortic valve is terminal. Instead, I have understood that as common knowledge.  However, in thinking about it more, the answer is probably and unfortunately “Yes”.

I say that because… If a stenotic heart valve is left untreated, the impact on the heart would eventually lead to excess strain on the heart, an enlarged heart and, most likely, an untimely death as the disease gets more and more severe.

(However, you should know that I’m not a doctor. I’m just a former aortic valve replacement patient thinking about the topic. But, over the years, many surgeons I work with have echoed this thought. In fact, heart valve stenosis can progress quickly resulting in severe damage to the heart and heart failure.)

Personally, I’ll never forget what my cardiologist said to me when I was diagnosed with severe aortic valve stenosis. Dr. Bad Bedside Manner (that’s what I call him now) said to me, “You’re not going to die tomorrow… But, I wouldn’t wait very long to take action on this.”

That was a very, very, very, very, very tough statement to digest.

But, now… Twenty-four months later, I’m better than new! I can’t believe my two-year anniversary is this Friday, December 21. Robyn (my wife) and I are going to celebrate together.

I hope that explains a little bit about terminal heart valve stenosis. If you would like to learn more about valve replacement surgery risk, please click the link.

Keep on tickin!