Adam Pick, Author of the Heart Valve Surgery Blog

Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

Get the latest news, patient advice and insights about heart valve surgery from Adam Pick, patient, author and website founder

Suzi Goes From Asymptomatic Nerves To Another Dr. Gillinov Success Story!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: December 4, 2024

It is amazing to see the physical, emotional and spiritual transformation that occurs in patients before-and-after heart valve surgery.  For example, here is the patient story of Suzi Epstein, an asymptomatic patient who was unexpectedly diagnosed with severe mitral regurgitation.

 

Dr. Gillinov PatientSuzi Epstein (Heart Valve Surgery Patient)

 
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Patient Humor: Doug’s Ode To The Incentive Spirometer

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: December 4, 2024

I never imagined this… But, thank the heavens for the fun and humor of patients in our online support community.

 

Incentive Spirometer Poem (Ode)Doug Fults (Heart Valve Surgery Patient at Cleveland Clinic)

 
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SMART Clinical Trial Reveals Medtronic Evolut TAVR Treatment Advantages for Women

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: December 1, 2024

Big News! In case you missed it, the new SMART Clinical Trial just revealed important treatment advantages for women with aortic stenosis who undergo a Medtronic Evolut TAVR.

To learn more about this landmark study, I traveled to the Women’s Heart Health Congressional Day in Washington, D.C. to interview Dr. Roxana Mehran, a principal investigator of the SMART Clinical Trial.  Click here to watch my interview with Dr. Roxana Mehran about the SMART Clinical Trial, TAVR and women’s heart health. 

 

SMART Clinical Trial - Women's Heart Health with Roxanna Mehran

 

Many thanks to Dr. Mehran for sharing these fascinating new insights about the SMART Clinical Trial specific to women’s hearts and TAVR.

Related Links:

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Patient Spotlight: Lisa, Blue Socks & Mountain Biking

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: November 20, 2024

Hearing from patients in our Community about their heart valve surgery success stories remains one of my favorite parts of running this website.  This time, I heard from Lisa Letizio after her heart valve surgery.

 

Lisa (Heart Valve Surgery Patient)

 
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Interventional Cardiology: What Should You Know?

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: November 19, 2024

In a recent patient survey, we learned that 53% of patients are not aware of the critical role that an interventional cardiologist plays within a heart team.

So, to help you learn about the importance of interventional cardiology for the lifetime treatment of heart valve disease, we just spent an entire day with Dr. Raj Makkar, a world-renowned interventional cardiologist who has performed over 7,000 transcatheter heart valve procedures that did not require an incision to the patient’s chest or ribs.

Click here to see our new video, “A ‘Day In The Life’ with Dr. Raj Makkar”.

 

Dr. Raj Makkar - Interventional Cardiologist

 

Many thanks to Dr. Raj Makkar for the special invitation to learn more about interventional cardiology and the use of transcatheter devices for the treatment of diseases including aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation.

Keep on tickin!
Adam

David’s Endocarditis Surprise & Weight Loss Journey

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: November 13, 2024

I just received a great patient story from David Monasterski who is a new member of our community.  After connecting with David at our YouTube Channel, he shared a very insightful story with me about bacterial endocarditis, aortic valve leaflet holes, the importance of second opinions, his weight loss journey and more.

 

Weight Loss After Heart SurgeryDavid – Before & After Heart Valve Surgery

 
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Calcified Aortic Heart Valves: Inside Dr. Doolabh’s Operating Room!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: November 4, 2024

Together, our patient community has a learned a lot about calcified aortic heart valves over the years. As you may know, a calcified heart valve can lead to severe aortic stenosis which is an under-diagnosed and life-threatening form of heart disease. That said, one of the big questions I continue to get from patients is, “What does a calcified aortic valve look like?”

Thanks to Dr. Neelan Doolabh, a leading minimally-invasive heart valve surgeon at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas, here are five pictures taken during recent aortic valve replacement surgeries performed by Dr. Doolabh.  For example, that is a tri-leaflet aortic valve that has severe calcification all over the leaflets.

 

Calcified Aortic Heart Valves with Dr. Neelan Doolabh

 

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In Uganda, We Help Nsimire Get Life-Saving Heart Surgery!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: October 23, 2024

I am incredibly happy to share that… Thanks to the support of this community and our amazing partner, Gift of Life International, we just helped Nsimire, a courageous 8-year old girl, undergo a life-saving cardiac procedure in Uganda!!!

 

Nsimire with Adam PickNsimire (Heart Surgery Patient at Uganda Heart Institute)

 
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4 Must-Know Facts About the Ross Procedure

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: October 21, 2024

Hey Everybody!

Given all the great patient questions we have received about the Ross Procedure used to treat aortic valve disease, we just posted a new educational video with Dr. Ismail El-Hamamsy.  As you may know, Dr. El-Hamamsy is a world-renowned expert that has performed over 800 Ross Procedures.  If you are thinking about the Ross Procedure as a potential treatment option for your aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation and/or bicuspid aortic valve, you may want to see this fascinating new video with the latest medical insights and research about the Ross Procedure.

Click here to see Dr. Ismail El-Hamamsy share his 4 must-know facts about the Ross Procedure.

 

Ross Procedure Facts with Dr. Ismail El-Hamamsy

 

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Research Alert: Women Are More Likely to Die From Complications After Heart Valve Surgery

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: October 17, 2024

Heart disease kills one in three women every year. That said, we are doing our best to raise awareness to this troublesome issue by speaking at congressional meetings in Washington, DC, supporting the “Go Red for Women” awareness initiative, and posting educational content specific to women’s heart health.

Unfortunately… We just learned new research which further widens the gender differences specific to cardiac care for women and men. According to a report by University of Michigan Health just published in JAMA Surgery, women are more likely than men to die after heart surgery due to complications.

 

Research Alert: Women's Heart Health
 
 

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“Rock From The Heart” Concert Date Announced Featuring Spin Doctors

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: October 16, 2024

I’m excited to share that the date and the headliner for the annual “Rock From the Heart” event has been announced. This special community event will be held February 22, 2025, at the Palace Theatre in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This event supports Rock From the Heart’s mission to raise awareness of aortic and heart valve disease while bringing the community together through the power of music.

 

Rock From The Heart

 
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Join 400 Patients On Today’s Webinar with the Mayo Clinic!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: October 11, 2024

[Update: Great news! Our patient webinar, “Advances in Bicuspid Aortic Valve Therapy” with the Mayo Clinic was fantastic.  To see a video replay of the webinar, click here or you can download the free ebook at this link.]

I’m excited to announce that our LIVE and FREE patient education series continue this Thursday, October 10th, at 6pm EST, with a special webinar, “Advances in Bicuspid Aortic Valve Therapy”. Featured speakers include Dr. Kristen Sell-Dottin, Division Chair of Cardiac Surgery, Dr. Bryan Barrus, Cardiac Surgeon, and Dr. John Haney, Cardiac Surgeon, at Mayo Clinic.

 

BAV Webinar
 
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Patient Insight: 10 Spiritual Lessons I Learned From Heart Surgery

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: October 2, 2024

The patients in our heart valve community never cease to amaze me.  I could ramble on about what I just received in my inbox from Cuauhtemoc Velazquez, a patient from Toronto, Canada. Instead, I will simply provide you this wonderful opportunity to watch an extraordinary video that Cuauhtemoc shared with me titled, “10 Spiritual Lessons I Learned From Heart Surgery”.

 

 
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Patient Alert: David Warns You About Cardiac Amyloidosis

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: September 26, 2024

Since starting HeartValveSurgery.com nearly twenty years ago, I have learned a lot about the heart. However, it was not until I received this email from David Cattell, a heart valve patient in our community, that I became aware of an under-diagnosed condition known as cardiac amyloidosis. Many thanks to David for sharing his story and his research below.

 

Dr. Basar-Sareyyupoglu at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville FloridaDavid Cattell with Dr. Basar Sareyyupoglu (Mayo Clinic Florida)

 
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Doctor Q&A: What Are The Future Advances In Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)?

Written By: Allison DeMajistre, BSN, RN, CCRN
Medical Expert: Brent New, MD, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Methodist Healthcare
Reviewed By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: September 19, 2024

In a little over a decade, the utility of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for the minimally-invasive treatment of severe aortic stenosis has exploded.  The number of TAVR therapies has soared from 4,600 in 2012 to over 100,000 cases in 2023, according to reports.

With the transformative progress TAVR has undergone in this short time, it’s no surprise that we received a question about the future of TAVR from Michael, a member of our patient community, who asked, “What advances do you foresee in the TAVR procedure in the next 15 years?” We met with Dr. Brent New at the Annual Meeting of The Society for Thoracic Surgeons to answer Michael’s question. Dr. New is the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio, Texas, and gave some interesting insights into possible TAVR innovations coming in the future.

 

 
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For 4th Consecutive Year, We Achieve #1 Ranking on Feedspot’s “Top 50 Cardiac Surgery Websites”

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: September 16, 2024

Dear Patients and Friends,

As you know… Making a difference in the lives of heart valve patients has nothing to do with a website ranking. Alternatively, “making a difference” has everything to do with helping others in their time of need.

That said, I am honored to share that HeartValveSurgery.com has been named the #1 website on Feedspot’s “50 Best Cardiac Surgery Blogs & Website” for the fourth consecutive year.

 

HeartValveSurgery.com Top Cardiac Website Ranking Feedspot
 
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High-Risk & Complex Heart Valve Surgery: What Should Patients Know?

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: September 11, 2024

Many patients in our community have been diagnosed with multiple types of valvular disease and complex cardiac conditions including atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease and aortic aneurysms. For that reason, I was very excited when Dr. Edward Soltesz and Dr. Anthony Zaki from the Cleveland Clinic agreed to participate in a “Surgeon Roundtable” about high-risk heart valve surgery.

To see our new Surgeon Roundtable with Dr. Soltesz and Dr. Zaki about high-risk and complex heart valve surgery, please click here.

 

High Risk and Complex Heart Valve Surgery with Dr. Edward Soltesz and Dr. Anthony Zaki

 

Many thanks to Dr. Edward Soltesz and Dr. Anthony Zaki for sharing their clinical experiences and research with our patient community!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Research Alert: New Rapid Recovery Protocol for Sternotomy Patients

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Medical Expert: Marc Gerdisch, MD, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Franciscan Health
Published: September 11, 2024

Over the past 10 years, we have learned a lot about the use Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery (ERAS) guidelines. For example, we have learned about rapid recovery protocols that are designed to minimize patient pain using rigid sternal fixation and cryoanalgesia while decreasing opioid (narcotics) usage. Most recently, we learned about in-operating room ventilator tube removal.

 

Sternotomy Recovery Research

 

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Deborah’s “Night & Day” Difference With Dr. Alfredo Trento

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: September 9, 2024

Hearing from heart valve patients about their success stories continues to be one of my favorite parts of running HeartValveSurgery.com.   This time, it was Deborah Ogilvie that brought an ear-to-ear smile to my face.  As you can read below, Deborah just had an aortic valve reoperation performed by Dr. Alfredo Trento at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

 

Dr. Alfredo Trento Heart Valve Patient
 
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Off-Topic: It’s Summer Harvest Time!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: September 9, 2024

As many of you know, I love to try and grow vegetables.  For many years, I failed miserably.  Nothing went right.  I grew the wrong varieties for our climate. I grew the wrong strains that didn’t fit in my little garden.  I was so bad that I almost gave up.

 

Harvesting Vegetables
 
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