Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

On the topic of cognitive decline after heart valve surgery, Dan and I just had the following email exchange:

Dear Adam,

I recently purchased your book and have been reading your newsletter. I find both very helpful and encouraging. I thank you for your efforts and concern for others who are going through experiences similar to yours.

I am 50 years old and, as a result of childhood Rheumatic Feaver, will be facing mitral valve surgery soon. Of course, I have many fears and concerns, most of which were discussed in your book. I do have one, follow-up concern that I would like to ask you about. I have heard and read about the phenomenon of cognitive decline following heart valve surgery. I would appreciate any information that you might have on this subject.

Thank you very much. Dan

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I just saw this at NAPSET’s Health Bulletin and found it interesting…

In 2011, the first of America’s baby boomers will turn 65–and by 2030, more than 71.5 million individuals–more than 1 in 5 of us-will be “senior citizens.”

As boomers age and the population grays, the risk for chronic conditions such as heart disease continues to grow. Fortunately, by becoming more aware of the risks, people are better able to modify their lifestyles, seek appropriate medical attention in a timely manner and stay healthier, longer.

Heart Valve Disease

One condition that is expected to become more prevalent in an older population is heart valve disease (HVD), in which one or more of the four heart valves doesn’t work properly. One can be born with the condition (congenital) or develop it later in life (acquired). It is not known what causes congenital HVD. Heart conditions, age-related changes, rheumatic fever and infections may cause acquired HVD.

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Following a recent blog, Take A Guess: How Many Annual Mitral Valve Surgeries?, I have received several questions about whether or not aortic valve replacements are common.

I hope you would agree that determining whether or not aortic valve surgery qualifies as “common” is relative. It ultimately depends on what YOU consider as common, right?

As for me, I have learned (since my own aortic valve replacement) that aortic valve surgery is not common but it is not uncommon as well. Confused? Let me explain.

Given my research, I estimate there are approximately 20,000 to 30,000 aortic valve replacement surgeries in the United States each year. While that is not a small number, it is relatively small considering that over 250 million people live in the United States.

Now, the interesting part… I go to the gym about five times per week. In the last three months, I have coincidentally met - in the sauna - two different people that had aortic valve replacement due to congenital bicuspid valves.

Here is my point: While aortic valve replacement is not statistically common, the surgery is performed on a very regular basis with a high degree of success.

I hope that helps give some perspective on whether or not aortic valve replacement is common.

Keep on tickin!

Over the past twenty years, the costs of health care and insurance has skyrocketed. According to the United Stated Census Bureau, over 45 million people, or 15.3% of Americans, did not have any form of health insurance in 2007.

I was lucky. I had pretty good health insurance when I had my aortic valve replacement operation at USC Medical Center. However, I regularly email back-and-forth with heart valve disease patients that (i) need heart valve replacements and (ii) are searching for cost information (or estimates) for valve surgery without insurance coverage.

Sandra recently asked me, “Is there some kind of health care cost estimator for heart valve replacement that I could use?”

Unfortunately, I do not have a cost estimator for heart valve replacement. In fact, I just tried to locate an online tool to better understand the medical care costs of valve replacement and did not find anything.

However, if you would like additional information about the costs of heart surgery, click this link about heart surgery costs (estimates).

And, if by chance, you come across a tool for estimating heart valve replacement costs, please Leave A Reply below and let us all know.

Keep on tickin!

Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of an actual heart valve surgery patient. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.

In an email, Samantha writes, “Hi Adam - I’m freaking out right now. My mother was just told that she will need open heart surgery to replace her mitral valve. I am on ‘information overload’ as I’m surfing the Internet like crazy. I’m trying to better understand the surgical process. Is it true that the heart is stopped during a valve replacement operation? If so, how do they stop the heart?”

Thanks for writing Samantha. I had this exact question as I was getting ready for my aortic valve replacement surgery.

The answer to your first question is “Yes, most likely, your mother’s heart will be stopped during her mitral valve replacement.” However, you should know that there are a number of heart surgery procedures in which the heart does not necessarily have to stop beating.

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Considering that a cardiac catheterization is on Times Online’s Top 10 Scary Medical Procedures, I am always looking for good patient information to dispel the fear associated with this procedure. (FYI, many heart valve surgery patients have a cardiac catheterization prior to valve repair and valve replacement operations.)

On that note, Ken just sent me a very detailed account of his recent cardiac catheterization. So you know, Ken has severe mitral regurgitation and is scheduled for surgery later this month. As you can read below, he has some interesting points specific to insurance, fear, the procedure and going home afterwards.

Without further ado, here are Ken’s thoughts specific to his recent cardiac cathetherization:

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