Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

I am happy to share that Mohammed, a courageous 14-year-old boy from Uganda who suffered from severe mitral valve regurgitation, just had successful heart surgery.

As you might recall, the HeartValveSurgery.com community sponsored Mohammed’s life-saving cardiac surgery at the Uganda Heart Institute. That said, I am especially thankful this Thanksgiving holiday for your support of Mohammed and his family. To learn about Mohammed’s journey to a healthy heart, click here.

Our 5th Child Saved!

This is the fifth time since starting HeartValveSurgery.com that we have sponsored a life-saving cardiac surgery for a child with heart disease. Amazing! Thank you!

Here are links to the children we have previously helped:

• Johann from the Philippines
• Baby Alfred from Nigeria
• Traver from Uganda
• Victor from El Salvador

Keep on tickin’ Mohammed!  I hope to meet you someday!
Adam

With Thanksgiving upon us, it was great to receive this note from Susan about her health, her three sons and her cow valve.

Susan Ward (Heart Valve Patient) With Her Children

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Dear Patients & Friends,

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  Today, I am reminded of a quote from Norman Vincent Peale who shared, “The more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for.”

On behalf of Robyn, my wife, and Ethan, our 14-year old son, we are so thankful for all the wonderful members of our community! That means you!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Adam

In our ongoing discussion about stroke risk associated with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), I just received a great question from Joel.  In his email, Joel writes, “Hi Adam, I have had aortic stenosis for about 3 years. My cardiologist sent me to see a surgeon last week. I also had a stroke about 3 years ago in addition to a heart attack about 30 years ago. I watched a video of yours with Dr. Marc Gerdisch about stroke risk. My question is, ‘Am I a good TAVR candidate being that I already had a stroke?'”

 
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Hi Everybody,

Great news! I wanted to share a quick website update that just went live.  As you may know, there are over 20,000 pages of content at HeartValveSurgery.com.  We are always posting new educational information including articles, patient stories, technology updates and much more.

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For the first time since COVID, I was very excited to attend the 2023 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapies (TCT) conference this week. TCT was founded by Dr. Martin Leon in 1988 and has become an incredible, worldwide event designed to advance minimally-invasive cardiac interventions like transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This wonderful symposium, which gathered over 10,000 medical professionals, provides an interactive and collaborative environment to foster education and late-breaking science.

 
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[Friday, October 20, 2023 Update: Yesterday’s patient webinar with the Mayo Clinic was fantastic!!! You can now watch a video replay of the webinar at this link.]

I’m excited to announce that our LIVE and FREE patient education events continue this Thursday, October 19 at 6pm EST, with a special webinar, “Advances in Heart Valve Tissue Reconstruction”.  The featured speakers are Dr. Kristen Sell-Dottin, Division Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery, and Dr. Malakh Shrestha, Director of Aortic Surgery, at Mayo Clinic.

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As you may know… Bono, the lead singer of U2, recently shared that he had heart valve and aortic aneurysm surgery performed by Dr. David Adams at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.  You may also know that I am a huuuuuuuuuge U2 fan.

So, when U2 announced “Achtung Baby”, their 25-show residency at the new MGM Sphere in Las Vegas, I needed to go.

U2 Performing at MGM Sphere (Las Vegas)

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I just received a great question from Betty who asks, “Hi Adam, I know you had heart valve surgery over 10 years ago. I’m curious to know if you still get echocardiograms?”

The answer? Yes… Even though it’s been nearly 18 years since I had a Ross Procedure performed by Dr. Vaughn Starnes at Keck Medicine of USC, there is one thing I do every, single year.

That’s right. I always get an annual echocardiogram.  In fact, I just had my yearly echocardiogram last week as you can see and hear below. There’s two reasons for this.  First, I want to make sure my heart, heart valves and aorta are doing great.  Second, Dr. Starnes and Dr. Ram Dandilaya, my cardiologist, both recommend it.

Steve Arriaga (Echocardiogram Technician) and Me

 
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I just received a GREAT question from Fred about patient prosthesis mismatch. Fred asked me, “Hi Adam – I need an aortic valve replacement and I have been reading about prosthesis mismatch. What, if anything, can I do to avoid this complication?”

To provide Fred an expert answer to his question, I just interviewed Dr. Douglas Johnston, Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. During his extraordinary career, Dr. Johnston has performed over 3,000 heart valve operations. Click here to see my interview with Dr. Johnston about Patient Prosthesis Mismatch.

Many thanks to Dr. Doug Johnston for educating our patient community about the patient prosthesis mismatch!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Aortic stenosis is a life-threatening disease that is under-diagnosed and under-treated. In fact, the survival rate is just 50% at two years for patients diagnosed with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis. To make matters worse, only 3.4% of patients that receive non-invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are Hispanic.

How and why is Medtronic, a leading manufacturer of TAVR devices, taking big steps to treat more Hispanic patients like Mrs. Julia Garcia? Click this link to find out.

 
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In case you missed the breaking news… Juwan Howard, Michigan basketball coach and former NBA all-star, just announced that he had successful aortic valve and aneurysm surgery by Dr. Himanshu Patel at University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Click here to learn the details of Juwan Howard’s aortic valve and aneurysm heart surgery. 

Many thanks to Dr. Himanshu Patel and the University of Michigan Health System for taking such great care of Juwan Howard.

Keep on tickin’ Juwan!
Adam

Given all the patient interest in robotic mitral valve repair surgery, I thought you might like to see this new research update from the Cleveland Clinic. As you will learn in this special “Surgeon Roundtable” with Dr. Marc Gillinov and Dr. Daniel Burns, the Cleveland Clinic has now completed over 2,000 robotic mitral valve operations.

What should you know about patient outcomes, patient advantages and patient considerations for robot-assisted mitral valve repair operations? Click here to get the answer from Dr. Gillinov and Dr. Burns. 

Many thanks to Dr. Gillinov and Dr. Burns for sharing all their research and clinical experiences with our patient community!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Lee just asked me, “Hi Adam – I’ve had three aortic valve replacements and valve repair plus an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. All functions are good currently, but AFib persists 3.2% of the time. After oral surgery and a ruptured vein causing a hematoma, I had to defer Eliquis to control bleeding. My current cardiologist thinks I should consider the Watchman procedure as a safety measure. What have you heard about that procedure?”

Click here to get the answer to Lee’s question from Dr. Marc Gerdisch, a world renowned surgeon who has performed over 4,000 heart valve surgeries.

Many thanks to Dr. Gerdisch for educating our patient community the Watchman, atrial fibrillation and heart valve disease.

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Woo-Hoo!!! For the fifth time since launching HeartValveSurgery.com, I am very happy to share that our community has sponsored a life-saving cardiac surgery for a child with heart disease.

Mohammed, 14, Heart Valve Patient

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I just received a great question from Alexandra about simultaneous mitral valve and tricuspid valve surgery. Alexandra asked me, “Hi Adam, All the data I’ve seen measures outcomes for mitral valve repair alone. Have you seen any data on survival and durability rates for patients undergoing mitral and tricuspid valve repair surgery?”

To answer this important question, I was fortunate to connect with Dr. Robert Smith, Chair of Cardiac Surgery at Baylor Scott & White – The Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas. Click here to see my interview with Dr. Robert Smith about survival, durability and long-term outcomes for mitral and tricuspid valve repair surgery.

 
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It should be no secret.

Patients with heart valve disease are 35% more likely to have atrial fibrillation. And… Patients with atrial fibrillation are five times more likely to have a stroke. The big question we need to ask is, “What is being done to help patients reduce stroke risk?”

To answer that question, we interviewed Dr. Patrick McCarthy, Executive Director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Medicine. Doctor McCarthy is a heart valve and atrial fibrillation expert. Click here to see my interview with Dr. McCarthy about stroke risk reduction, atrial fibrillation and heart valve disease.

 
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Dear Patients & Friends,

After receiving several wonderful emails from patients about the post, “After Heart Surgery, I Have A New Scuba Buddy”, I wanted to share a quick update from a recent Scuba dive with Ethan, my 14-year-old son who just got certified.

The conditions of the dive, which was at Catalina Island near Los Angeles, were immaculate. Visibility, the distance a diver can see underwater, may have been 100+ feet. It was as if Ethan and I were swimming in the world’s largest aquarium. We were very lucky. Our awesome dive guide, Garrett from Catalina Scuba, captured this special, underwater experience with the picture below.

Adam and Ethan Pick Scuba Diving (Catalina Island)

 
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I just received a great question from Peter who asked me, “I was diagnosed with aortic valve regurgitation. Can this procedure be done safely using minimally invasive techniques? What questions should I ask to figure out if the surgeon has enough experience and expertise?”

To provide Peter (and you) an expert response, I was very fortunate to interview Dr. Hiroo Takayama, Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, during the American Association for Thoracic Surgery conference. To see my interview with Dr. Hiroo Takayama about minimally invasive aortic valve repair surgery, please click here.

Many thanks to Dr. Hiroo Takayama for sharing his clinical experiences and research with our patient community specific to minimally invasive aortic valve repair surgery.

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Medical innovations are quickly transforming the patient experience specific to heart valve surgery.  For example, the utility of robot-assisted, mitral valve surgery has gained significant momentum as an effective minimally-invasive option during the past 5 years.

Now, new innovations are helping patients accelerate recovery and restore normal life expectancy.  What should you know about new cardiac advances including percutaneous cannulation and cryotherapy?  Click here to get the answer from Dr. T. Sloane Guy, Director of Robotic Cardiac Surgery at Georgia Heart Institute in Gainesville, Georgia. 

Many thanks to Dr. T. Sloane Guy and the entire Georgia Heart Institute team for taking great care of heart valve patients!

Keep on tickin!
Adam