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

Join 300 Patients On Thursday’s Live Educational Webinar with the Mayo Clinic!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: October 5, 2024

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.

Click here to sign up now.

 

Bicuspid Aortic Valve Webinar with Mayo Clinic
 

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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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46 Patient Questions Answered by Dr. Marc Gillinov!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Medical Expert: Marc Gillinov, MD, Chairman of Cardiac Surgery, Cleveland Clinic
Published: September 5, 2024

Wonderful!

During our recent patient webinar, “3 Questions to Ask Before Mitral Valve Surgery”, I received 46 questions that we did not have time to answer during the live event. That said, Dr. Marc Gillinov, who is the Chairman of Cardiac Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and the featured speaker of the webinar, typed up answers to each patient question to help educate our patient community.

 

Dr. Marc Gillinov - Patient Questions

 

Question #1: Michael asks, “I already have a TAVR and now need a TMVR. I do have a ring in the mitral valve that was installed in 2005 both the valve and the ring are Edwards Lifesciences products. It’s a flexible and complete ring. What should I know?”

If the mitral valve ring is flexible, TMVR is not possible. — Dr. Marc Gillinov

 
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550,000 Social Media Followers for Our Heart Valve Community!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 30, 2024

So, this is downright wonderful!

I just learned that HeartValveSurgery.com now has over 550,000 social media followers across Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

HeartValveSurgery.com Social Media Followers Top 550,000

 

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Inside Access to Dr. Raj Makkar’s Heart Valve Catheter Lab at Cedars-Sinai!!!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 29, 2024

On behalf of heart valve patients all over the world…

I need to extend a huge “Thank You!” to Dr. Raj Makkar and the entire heart team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California!

 

Dr. Rajendra Makkar (Interventional Cardiologist) at Cedars-SinaiDr. Raj Makkar and Me

 

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New “3 Questions to Ask Before Mitral Valve Surgery” Webinar Video Just Posted!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Medical Expert: Marc Gillinov, MD, Chairman of Cardiac Surgery, Cleveland Clinic
Published: August 25, 2024

Wonderful news! Our recent  webinar, “3 Questions to Ask Before Mitral Valve Surgery”, brought together patients from all over the world for this live educational event that featured Dr. Marc Gillinov, Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

In case you missed the webinar, here is a video replay of the webinar that has already been watched over 1,000 times on YouTube.

 

 

Thanks Dr. Gillinov & Cleveland Clinic!

On behalf of our patient community, I would like to extend a tremendous thank you to Dr. Marc Gillinov at Cleveland Clinic for sharing his research and clinical experiences specific to the three questions patients should ask before mitral valve surgery!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

P.S. You can also download a free copy of our new eBook, “3 Questions to Ask Before Mitral Valve Surgery”, at this link.

Join 500 Patients on Today’s Patient Webinar!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page Last Updated: August 22, 2024

[Update: Great news! Our patient webinar, “3 Questions You Need To Ask Before Mitral Valve Surgery” with Dr. Marc Gillinov, the Chairman of the Cardiac Surgery at Cleveland Clinic, was fantastic.  To see a video replay of the webinar, click here.]

I’m excited to announce that our LIVE and FREE patient education events continue today, Thursday, August 22, at 6pm EST, with a special webinar, “3 Questions You Need To Ask Before Mitral Valve Surgery”.  The featured speaker is Dr. Marc Gillinov, the Chairman of the Cardiac Surgery at Cleveland Clinic, who has performed over 5,000 heart valve operations during his extraordinary career.

 

Dr. Marc Gillinov Webinar about Mitral Valve Surgery

 

This special webinar will also include an interactive “Questions & Answers” session where you will be able to ask Dr. Gillinov your questions about mitral valve surgery.

This event is going to be great! Hope to see you on the webinar!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

“Is Corkscrew Espophagus A Complication During Heart Valve Surgery?” asks Lori

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

I just received a very interesting question from Lori about heart valve surgery and corkscrew esophagus, also known as tortuous esophagus.

In her email, Lori asked me, “Hi Adam, I have been following you at the HeartValveSurgery.com YouTube Channel.  I get a lot of comfort from you with regards to valve disease and surgery. I am waiting to have both mitral and tricuspid valve surgery. But, here is my dilemma and question for you. I was recently diagnosed with a tortuous esophagus (corkscrew shaped).  The cardiac surgeon said that my esophagus will be a complication because he needs to use the transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) camera to perform this surgery. But, he cannot insert the TEE through my esophagus. Have you heard of this before? Do you know any experts that I could contact about my question? Thanks, Lori”

 

Corkscrew EsophagusCorkscrew Esophagus (Source: New England Journal of Medicine)

 
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Peloton Instructors, Emma, Cody and Ally, Show Support for Our Patient Community!

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

As many of you know, Robyn (my wife) and I are addicted to our Peloton bike and treadmill for several reasons.  So, on a recent trip to New York City, Robyn and I were very fortunate to attend live Peloton classes that were filmed and simultaneously streamed all over the world.  Being in the production of a Peloton class is really fun. Simply imagine that you are on a movie set while being coached by elite fitness instructors and sweating your arse off. 🙂

 

Peloton Instructors
 
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Mitral Annular Calcification: Why Is It So Difficult to Treat?

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 7, 2024

Hey Everybody,

I’m getting more-and-more questions about mitral annular calcification (MAC) which is a unique type of heart valve disease that can cause debilitating symptoms and, unfortunately, death. For this reason, I was very excited to interview Dr. Patrick McCarthy about mitral annular calcification at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Click here to see Dr. McCarthy answer several quesitons about the management and the treatment of mitral annular calcification.

 

Mitral Annular Calcification with Dr. Patrick McCarthy

 

Keep on tickin,
Adam

Stroke Risk & TAVR: What Should You Know in 2024?

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 31, 2024

With the increasing usage of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to treat patients with aortic stenosis, we wanted to learn more about the stroke risk associated with this minimally-invasive technique that does not require an incision to the patient’s chest or ribs. Stroke complications have been cited as the “Achilles heel” of TAVR.

For this reason, we connected with Dr. Kendra Grubb, the surgical director of the Emory Structural Heart and Valve Center at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia, who is a leading aortic valve and TAVR expert.  Click here to see my new interview with Dr. Grubb about stroke risk and TAVR.

 

TAVR and Stroke Risk with Dr. Kendra Grubb

 

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Patient Insights: Cardiac Surgery Outcomes Reports (Part 2)

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 22, 2024

Hey Everybody,

After posting my video, “Patient Insights: Unwrapping A Cardiac Surgery Outcomes Report”, I received a bunch of great feedback from the heart valve patients in our community.

One of the questions from patients was, “How can I access the Cardiac Surgery Outcomes Reports managed by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS).  It’s a great question with a very simple answer.  Click here to access the Cardiac Surgery Outcomes Reports from the STS.

 

STS Cardiac Surgery Database Star Rankings

 

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St. Elizabeth Healthcare Joins Our Community!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 18, 2024

I am very excited to announce that St. Elizabeth Healthcare just became the newest sponsor of HeartValveSurgery.com!

 

St. Elizabeth Healthcare Joins HeartValveSurgery.com

 

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