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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.

Suzi Epstein (Heart Valve Surgery Patient)

Suzi Says...

In her first email to me, Suzi wrote, "Hi Adam, Thank you so much for your support. I am 69 years old. I'm indeed nervous for my upcoming mitral valve repair at Cleveland Clinic. I have no symptoms and feel perfect. So, this came as a surprise that I need to get my valve fixed. I'm looking forward to becoming a part of the support community. Fyi, my surgeon is Dr. Marc Gillinov from the Cleveland Clinic."

Dr. Marc Gillinov - Robotic Mitral Valve Repair Surgeon

Dr. Marc Gillinov, Chairman of the Department of
Cardiothoracic Surgery at Cleveland Clinic

To help calm Suzi's nerves, I thought she might benefit from an educational video, "Fear & Heart Surgery: 3 Facts to Calm Patient Anxiety", that I recently filmed with Dr. Gillinov. That's right! Doctor Gillinov is Suzi's surgeon! What a crazy coincidence! Here is that video...

The next time I heard from Suzi, she was three weeks into her recovery. Suzi wrote, "Hi Adam, At the three-week post-op mark, I was able to get back to my Pilates, yoga and weights workouts. I'm feeling so lucky and so fortunate. Also... I feel really good!"

Suzi with Her Husband and Grandchildren

That wasn't the last I heard from Suzi... Nope!

Suzi is continuing to stay educated about her heart valves and attended a recent webinar about robotic mitral valve surgery with guess who... Dr. Gillinov!!!

She wrote to me, "I wanted to thank you for providing us with such an interesting and informative presentation this evening. Just as an aside... After my surgery, I had no complications, thank goodness, and was driving within 10 days. I was back to my normal routine within 2.5 weeks, including walking 4 miles a day without any difficulty. I'm beyond grateful to you and the Heart Valve Community for all of their support, and also to Dr. Gillinov, who treated me so well!

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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