Considering I’m fascinated with technology, it’s natural and logical that I would monitor the ongoing roll-out and clinical trials specific to the Sapien heart valve replacement device developed by Edwards Lifesciences.

The wonderful possibilities of this unique technology could help many, many, many aortic valve replacement patients in the future. The Sapien system (shown below) is less invasive and provides patients with a faster recovery.

Sapien Heart Valve Replacement Device

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As Barack Obama recently said, “It’s not a result of the current crisis and emergency.. It’s part of the current crisis and emergency.” The President-elect was referring to the United States health care system. Today, approximately 47 million Americans are without health care insurance.

On this note, a UCLA doctor suggests, “To heal our ailing health care system, we need to stop thinking like Americans.” That’s the message of two articles by UCLA’s Dr. Marc Nuwer, a leading expert on national health care reform, published this week in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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When I share my Ross Procedure experience with patients suffering from aortic valve disease, I typically receive a very appropriate, knee-jerk response. That response goes like this, “What? Huh? Ya mean… Umm… You had two valve replacements, not just one… Isn’t that more risky?”

As I have explained before, the answer to that question is both “yes” and “no”. (To read more about my thoughts on the Ross Procedure, please click here – “Why I Chose The Ross Procedure For Aortic Valve Replacement?“)

Even though my Ross Procedure was several years ago, I continue to evaluate this complex operation as part of my ongoing research specific to heart valve surgery. This morning, I read a new study at CardiSource titled, “Ross Procedure: A Sixteen Year Experience”.

In this unique study, 487 Ross Procedure patients who underwent the operation between 1986 and 2002 were evaluated. The Ross operation was offered to all children, young adults with isolated valve disease, and older adults with an active lifestyle and a desire to avoid anticoagulation.

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I was just reading the Annals of Internal Medicine when I came across an interesting article about mitral valve prolapse and its impact upon men and women. The summary (below) is from a report titled “Sex Differences in Morphology and Outcomes of Mitral Valve Prolapse”.

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It’s time for another “True or False” quiz… That said, is the following statement true or false?

The American Heart Association just reported that twice as many Americans are hospitalized with heart failure today compared to 25 years ago.

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