Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

I just received a great patient story from Annette about asthma and heart valve disease.  Here is what she writes:

Don, my husband, had his aortic valve replaced with a cow valve and his mitral valve repaired on July 21, 2009.  Prior to the surgery, Don suffered from severe asthma. His situation was so bad, eleven years ago, we moved from Illinois to Florida in hopes of helping his bad asthma. Unfortunately, the move did not help.

Don Houdek - Double Heart Valve Replacement Patient

Well… Don and I are happy to report that - since his heart valve surgery - he has not taken any asthma medicine. At check-ups, Don’s lungs are showing up “clear” when the doctor listens to him.  I have to admit, this was one of the best perks of having his heart valves repaired and replaced.

Thanks so much for your heart surgery book which relieved our anxiety!

Regards,
Annette Houdek

P.S. To leave a comment, please click here.

I just received a fantastic, patient update from Anita. As you can read below, Anita is hiking and camping just six months after heart valve repair surgery. Here is what Anita wrote to me:

Hi Adam,

As you may remember, I had mitral valve repair at The Cleveland Clinic on March 30, 2009. Doctor A. Marc Gillinov was my surgeon.

I am doing great. In fact, last weekend, Mike and I visited the Adirondack Mountains near Lake Placid, New York. The journey (hiking, camping, climbing) was magical.

Anita, Heart Valve Surgery Patient, With Mike

I climbed two of the “High Peaks” which required us to hike uphill for two miles as we reached a 3,800 foot elevation.  Each of the peaks had spectacular views at the top. I felt so happy and so grateful to see the all of the beauty that was present.

Continue reading this post »

Elizabeth Taylor just announced that her heart valve repair was successful, adding that “it is like having a brand new ticker.”

The message on her Twitter page comes two days after she announced she was having heart surgery at an undisclosed hospital to repair a leaky heart valve. In a short message, the Oscar-winner thanked fans.

Elizabeth Taylor - Recovering From Heart Valve Surgery

“Dear Friends, My heart procedure went off perfectly,” she posted on Twitter. “Thank you for your prayers and good wishes. Know they all helped.” The 77-year-old did not go into further detail about her heart condition or the medical procedure.

Elizabeth Taylor suffered from mitral valve regurgitation. A new minimally invasive procedure, known as the MitraClip, was used to repair her leaky valve without any physical trauma to her sternum. This unique device, which was recently acquired by Abbott Laboratories from Evalve, Inc., does not require open heart surgery or the use of a heart-lung machine. Click this link to learn more about the MitraClip for mitral valve repair surgery.

While the MitraClip does have a CE mark in Europe, the technology is not approved by the FDA in the United States. However, the device is currently in clinical trials and may become FDA approved within the next few years. The MitraClip belongs to a new class of minimally invasive procedures that use a catheter-based approach to replace and repair heart valves.

Keep on tickin’ Elizabeth!

P.S. To leave a comment, please click here.

About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. This unique book integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of 78 former valve surgery patients to help patients and caregivers better understand the problems, the opportunities and the realities of heart valve surgery. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.

I just received a great patient story from Bobbie Ayala about insurance providers, misdiagnosis, her procedure and Dr. Fontana. Without further ado, here is what Bobbie wrote me:

Adam,  I have been reading your book and following the stories in your blogs for over a year.  The information that I received dispelled many of the fears I had about heart surgery.  I want to share my experience with you.

I am a 57 year old female.  I was diagnosed with aortic regurgitation and I also had a 75% colluded coronary artery.  I had seen a cardiac surgeon at Kaiser and he was absolutely no help.  His recommendation was to “wait and see”.  Furthermore, he made some comments to the effect that if I wanted surgery he could schedule it next week.  For the record his name was Dr. Pfeiffer (do not recommend).  Anyway, the experience was to say the least scary and awful.  Then I started reading your book and following your blog.  I realized that maybe this surgeon was also incorrect.

In July, I was able to change my insurance from Kaiser to Blue Cross Anthem.  With my new insurance, I could choose the doctor and hospital I wanted.  First, I checked out the best Heart Hospitals in the United States and determined locally, the best was Cedars Sinai.  (I also contacted one of the doctors at Cleveland Heart Institute and was given the advise, “Do not wait!”)

Continue reading this post »