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Heart Valve Replacement And Heart Valve Repair Blog For Patients With Aortic Stenosis, Mitral Regurgitation, Mitral Valve Prolapse, etc.

Heart Valve Repair And Heart Valve Replacement Book

 

Adam Pick - Heart Valves Author & Blogger
Adam Pick
Double Heart Valve Surgery Patient
and Author of The Patient's Guide
To Heart Valve Surgery


> Read My Story Here


Archive for the 'Heart Surgery Options' Category

MitraClip Update: Abbott Announces Encouraging Safety Data

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Since I first heard about the MitraClip several years ago, I have been fascinated by the evolution of this new, non-invasive technology used to treat mitral regurgitation without open heart surgery. (You might recall, Elizabeth Taylor underwent the MitraClip procedure last October.)

That said, I was excited to learn that Abbott Laboratories, the manufacturer of the MitraClip, just announced some encouraging safety findings from its clinical trials. In this very unique research, the MitraClip - which is delivered to the heart via a catheter through a blood vessel in the leg - was compared against traditional, open heart surgery for mitral regurgitation treatment.


The MitraClip By Abbot Laboratories

The primary safety goal of the study compared the number of adverse events (stroke, re-operation of mitral valve, urgent cardiovascular surgery, heart attack, kidney failure, major bleeding, and death) 30 days after the procedure.

The highlights of this research were:

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Surgeon Interview: Dr. Niv Ad Discusses Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Valve Surgery

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Over the years, I have interacted with many patients that suffer from atrial fibrillation and heart valve diseases including aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation. To learn more about atrial fibrillation and heart valve disease, I contacted Dr. Niv Ad, the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Inova Health Systems in Falls Church, Virginia. Here are the highlights from our very interesting discussion:

Dr. Niv Ad - Cardiac Surgeon, Inova Health System
Dr. Niv Ad- Chief of Cardiac Surgery
Inova Health Systems, Falls Church, Virginia

Adam:  Thanks so much for taking time to speak with me today. I’d like to ask you a couple questions about atrial fibrillation and heart valve disorders.

Dr. Niv Ad:  Thanks Adam for raising awareness to this very important topic.

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Trifecta Valve Gets Approval From European Union And… Joe

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

As many of you know, this is a very exciting time for the heart valve surgery community given the rapid advance of medical technologies used to treat diseases including aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation.

Last week, St. Jude Medical, one of the leading heart valve manufacturers, cleared a significant hurdle for the commercial release of its new Trifecta heart valve replacement. In case you missed it, St. Jude announced that its Trifecta valve received CE mark approval for the device within the European Union. (The device is still in clinical trials here in the United States.)

St. Jude Trifecta Heart Valve Replacement Devicement
Trifecta Heart Valve (Source: Medgadget)

As we have discussed before, the Trifecta heart valve is a pericardial, stented tissue valve used to replace a patient’s diseased, damaged or malfunctioning aortic heart valve. According to the St. Jude, this next-generation tissue valve has a tri-leaflet stented pericardial design which offers excellent hemodynamic performance, or nearly unobstructed blood flow, which closely mimics the blood flow of a natural, healthy heart. The valve also features the Linx AC Technology, an anti-calcification treatment designed to reduce tissue mineralization (hardening).

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In Portugal, Filomeno Gets A Carbomedics Aortic Valve Replacement (Video)

Friday, February 26th, 2010

There is nothing better than waking up, enjoying a cup of coffee, turning on the computer and finding a patient success story in my inbox.

Today, I received a patient success story all the way from Portugal. It’s about Filomeno Faustino’s recent aortic valve replacement with a Carbomedics Top Hat mechanical device. Here is what Filomeno wrote to me:

Filomeno Faustino - Aortic Valve Replacement Patient In  Portugal

Filomeno Faustino - Nine Days After Valve Surgery

Dear Adam,

Recently, my aortic valve was replaced because I had a bicuspid aortic valve caused by a genetic problem. I have attached a picture which shows me nine days after surgery.

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All rights reserved. Use of this website, Heart-Valve-Surgery.com assumes acceptance of the terms herein. All logos, pictures and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. This website has been developed and presented by Adam Pick, author of "The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery." Patient's stories herein, and the language used regarding heart valve replacement and heart valve repair, is intended to inform and educate. HOWEVER, it does not imply that you or anyone else will receive the same outcome. As with any medical procedure, results will vary among individuals, and there could be pain or substantial risks involved. These concerns should be discussed with your health care provider prior to any treatment so that you have proper informed consent and understand that there are no guarantees to healing. Adam Pick does not offer medical advice on this website. This information about valve replacement and repair is offered for educational purposes only. Do not act or rely upon our information without seeking independent professional medical advice. The transmission of this information does not create any relationship between you and Adam Pick. Adam Pick does not guarantees the accuracy, completeness, usefulness, or adequacy of any information available at or from this transmission.
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