Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog

I’m on day three of my work trip through Japan. So far, Tokyo is very impressive and… very crowded! I almost had a panic attack walking through the train stations this morning. So many people! I’ve since learned that Tokyo is one of the most populated cities in the world, with a population over 12 million.

Needless to say, the jet lag is still overwhelming considering I live in Los Angeles. That said, I’ve had some extra, early morning hours to dig through my inbox and answer some questions. I just received an interesting question about life expectancy after heart surgery. It reads, “Adam – Do you know what the life expectancy is for patients after heart valve surgery?”

That is a great question. Unfortunately, it is a very tough question to answer. As for life expectancy after heart valve surgery, it’s almost as difficult to answer, “How long will a mechanical mitral valve last?”

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If you didn’t already know, I have to share with you truth about life… Life is risk.

From the moment you wake up in the morning, you are in a risky situation.

Considering I live in Los Angeles, I think I have more risk than most. The drivers are crazy here! Every day I yell out, “What are you trying to kill me?”

My point… It is only natural to have some, if not lots of, concern about open heart surgery risk if you are the patient preparing for heart valve repair or heart valve replacement.

Heck! Any kind of cardiac procedure involves risk.

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I’ll never forget the first time I heard the phrase “Pumphead”. I was interviewing a former patient about her heart valve surgery experience for my book.

She was discussing the short-term mental impact of open heart bypass surgery. Specifically, she was remembering a challenging time during her recovery when she suffered from cardiac depression.

The former patient ended the discussion by saying, “Oh well. I guess I was just a pumphead.”

I did a double-take… “Pumphead?” I thought to myself, “What is pump head?”

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As you can read in my story, I had my aortic and pulmonary valves replaced (via the Ross Procedure) in 2005.

At thirty five years of age, my bicuspid aortic valve was worn down. My diseased valve suffered from stenosis and regurgitation.

After surgery, my heart surgeon, Dr. Vaughn Starnes of USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, informed me that my aortic valve was “very, very sick… and very, very calcified.”

“Calcified?” I thought to myself, “What the heck does that mean?”

Well… It turns out that heart valves can calcify. When valve leaflets calcify, the leaflets become thickened and hardened, producing a narrow valve opening.

To give you an idea of what a calcified aortic valve looks like, please see the picture below.

According to reports, Fibro-calcific degeneration occurs mostly in the aortic valve and it most commonly impacts adults over 65 years of age.

Pretty interesting picture, right?

Keep on tickin!