Ray just emailed me a great question about heart valve disease.

He writes, “Adam – Try this one on for size… I’m 57 and newly diagnosed with severe stenosis in my aortic valve. The docs think I need surgery soon. I can’t believe it. I feel fine. No real symptoms. But, the echo shows my heart is already dilated somewhat. Even though the cardiologist told me what is wrong… I want to see what is wrong. Do you have any pictures of heart valve disease? Thanks, Ray”

Like Ray, I experienced a very similar thought upon diagnosis, “What does a diseased heart valve look like?” That said, please find several pictures below to help Ray (and perhaps you) better understand the visual anatomy of several different types of valve disease.

First, however, I thought you might like to see what a normal heart valve looks like for comparison. Here are two pictures of a normal aortic heart valve and tricuspid heart valve:

As for the different types of valvular disorders, here is a picture of aortic valve stenosis. The valve cusps are rigid, distorted and deformed.

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Marianna just sent me an interesting question about Robin Williams and his recent, double heart valve surgery.

Her email reads, “Adam – I was recently diagnosed with a very narrow heart valve (severe aortic stenosis). I’m a 59-year old grandma that still has a lot of living – cooking and gardening in particular – to do. I’m researching the different types of surgery to replace my aortic valve. Thanks to your blog, I’ve been reading up on Robin Williams’ surgery and recovery. I was just curious… Did he have open heart surgery or minimally invasive surgery? Thanks Marianna”

As the old saying goes, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.” So, here is a picture of Robin Williams’ chest about eight weeks after surgery.

From the image above, you can see that a chest incision (median sternotomy) was used by Dr. Gillinov of The Cleveland Clinic to replace the comedian’s aortic valve and repair his mitral valve.

After my double valve replacement surgery, I learned that this type of scar is referred to as a “zipper”. So, if you have had open heart surgery, you’re part of the Zipper Club.

Keep on tickin!

Something wonderful comes over me when I receive a thoughtful email from a loving caregiver.

Since I was/am an aortic and pulmonary valve replacement patient, I can directly relate to the fear, uncertainty and doubt that caregivers encounter as they collect information on behalf of their family and friends.

So you know… Sometimes I can email back-and-forth up to 30 times with nervous caregivers as their loved ones prepare and recover from heart valve repair and/or heat valve replacement.

That said, I thought you might like to read a recent email exchange between Julie and myself. Julie’s daughter has an aortic aneurysm and a leaky aortic valve. Here is what she writes:

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Are you like me?

When I was diagnosed with severe heart valve disease, I wanted to learn as much as I could about aortic stenosis (my valve disorder), aortic valve surgery and the recovery from open heart surgery.

Specifically, during my second-opinion with Dr. Chaikin, I learned that my heart valve leaflets had narrowed due to the calcification of my bicuspid aortic valve. As a result, blood flow through my heart was compromised which caused my heart to enlarge. This was a dangerous precursor to congestive heart failure. Although I was asymptomatic, I was not in good health.

Calcified Aortic Heart Valve

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Jenny must be tired of seeing my scar sprinkled throughout this website. She asks, “Adam – Do you have any pictures of incision scars for women who have had open heart surgery? I’m getting ready for open heart surgery and would like to see what my chest scar might look like.”

Well, I do have three pictures of women which show an open heart surgery scar at different stages of the recovery. The picture below shows a woman still in the hospital (shortly after surgery).

The next picture shows a lady who appears to be fully recovered. You need to look real close to see the incision scar which is no longer red (as shown above) but white. Yes, this picture is a little artsy but it does a good job showing just how well the skin can heal.

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