If you didn’t know… Thanksgiving is, by far, my favorite holiday.
How can you go wrong with comfort food, family, friends and the overwhelming reminder of thankfulness? On that note, I want to extend a tremendous “Thank you!” to all members of this growing community of patients, caregivers, surgeons, cardiologists, nurses, cardiac centers and medical device manufacturers.
Together, we are empowering each other in a way that I never imagined when this project started five years ago. I am continuously touched, moved and inspired by your words, your stories, your encouragement and your ongoing pursuit of healthy hearts.
May you have a very happy and a very safe Thanksgiving!
I just learned some great news! Dr. Bruce Lytle, Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Heart Institute, will be hosting a special, live web chat titled “Ask The Heart Surgeon” this Wednesday at 12 pm (EST). Needless to say, this is an exciting opportunity for patients and caregivers to gain direct access to one of the leading heart valve surgeons.
Prior to the Heart Valve Summit, Wanda sent me two great questions. She wrote, “Adam – What is the oldest person that a surgeon has operated on? Is it common for the elderly to have heart valve surgery? Thanks! Wanda”
As I receive this question often — from patients and caregivers — I wanted to provide Wanda an expert opinion. For that reason, I met with Dr. Steven Bolling, the Director of The Mitral Valve Clinic at the University of Michigan. Here are the highlights from our discussion.
Thanks to Wanda for her questions and a special “Thank You” to Dr. Steven Bolling for sharing his clinical expertise with us.
For those of you who are hearing impaired, I have provided a transcript of this video below.
In case you missed it… Some very interesting reports came out about the SAPIEN, a non-invasive aortic valve replacement for patients with aortic stenosis that just received FDA approval for inoperable patients, at the recent Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference in San Francisco.
As reported in Medical News, two-year follow-up findings of the PARTNER trial indicate that transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) may be a better option than standard treatment. For more, click here.
As reported at TheHeart.org, a study comparing the transapical approach for transcatheter aortic-valve implantation (TAVI) against conventional aortic-valve replacement surgery was stopped early due to an increase in adverse events, including an increased risk of major stroke and severe paravalvular leakage, in elderly patients eligible for surgery. For more, click here.
Emotions are powerful. They surface quickly. They alter biochemistry. They transform seconds into memorable moments.
Recently, several of my emotions — thankfulness, appreciation, humility, indebtedness — appeared during a special chat with Dr. Vaughn Starnes, my surgeon. What began as a discussion about pediatric mitral valve repair, quickly turned into an emotional moment as I stood next to the man who changed my life.
Thanks to Debbie for her question and an extraordinary thanks to Dr. Vaughn Starnes for providing me a “second chance” at life.
For those patients and caregivers in our community who are hearing impaired, I have provided a written transcript of this video interview with Dr. Starnes below. I have also included another video about Dr. Starnes, his focus on pediatric surgery and his clinic at USC Medical Center in Los Angeles.
