June 23rd, 2008
A few weeks ago, we chatted about the pitfalls of Grey’s Anatomy’s depiction of heart surgery reality for both patients and caregivers. Well, I just learned that ABC is doing a six-part mini-series called “Hopkins”. Apparently, the buzz around this television documentary is very positive.
Amongst other stories, this first episode of the tv show will feature content on heart surgeon, Doctor Brian Bethea.
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June 21st, 2008
As a follow-up to my recent blog about cardiac rehabilitation exercises, Tony just asked me, “Is it okay to swim after open heart surgery? Do you swim? If so, how long did you wait to go swimming after your aortic valve replacement?”
Thanks Tony! These questions just brought back a flood of wonderful memories specific to my recovery from valve surgery.
So you know, I am a fish out-of-water. I’ve been lucky to live near a pool and/or a beach my entire life. As a kid, I was a swim-a-holic. At the age of three, I was racing in meets against six year-olds. In fact, here is a picture that my mom recently found.
Adam - Three Years Old Swimming (Before Heart Surgery)
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June 21st, 2008
Amongst patients, the costs of heart surgery can be a delicate discussion. As you can read, the costs of heart valve surgery vary from patient-to-patient.
To some extent, the initial billings associated with fees from the hospital, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist and the cardiologist can make your jaw drop to the floor.
Regardless of what your heart surgery cost will be, I was just reading a fascinating report by the American Heart Association. According to a 2006 study, the AHA believes that the total annual cost of heart disease is…
Go ahead…
Take a guess….
Really… Venture a guess…
$258 BILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR!!! (Yes. That was with a ‘B’ for billlllllllion.) You should know that estimate includes medical services, medications and lost productivity from people affected with heart disease.
My jaw just dropped to the floor again.
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.
June 21st, 2008
One of the more frequent conversations I have with patients focus on new, minimally invasive technologies for heart valve replacement and heart valve repair. You can read prior posts about Edwards catheter-based aortic valve replacement or the Evalve Mitraclip for mitral valve repair.
According to The Star, Jack Burd, aged 17, became one of the first patients to have a new heart valve replaced via keyhole surgery - in his leg.
As you can see from the open heart surgery scars running down his chest (see above), this was Jack’s third heart surgery. Like many of us, Jack, from the United Kingdom, was born with a congenital heart defect. This last heart procedure was required to replace a heart valve that was simply worn-out.
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June 20th, 2008
As we have previously discussed, several drugs have been found to negatively impact patients with heart issues. In March, 2008, we discussed the Trasylol crisis covered on 60 Minutes, which led to the negligent deaths of many heart surgery patients.
Today, it appears that the drug known as “Definity” is being investigated by the FDA. According to the Associated Press, “Despite previous warnings to physicians, drugs used to improve medical images of the heart continue to cause fatal side effects. The FDA said that since October it has received four reports of patients dying after receiving injections of the drug Definity. One patient with congestive heart failure died within five minutes of receiving the drug.”
Obviously, this is terrible news. And, I imagine that many of you are wondering, “What is Definity?”
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