Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog – Page 2

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.

 
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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.

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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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.

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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. Raj Makkar and Me

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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.

[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.

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

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 Esophagus (Source: New England Journal of Medicine)

 
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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. 🙂

 
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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.

Keep on tickin,
Adam

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.

Keep on tickin!
Adam

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.

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

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This is really important for all the patients and the care partners in our community…

I just posted a new educational video about the importance of using “Cardiac Surgery Outcomes Reports” when choosing a surgeon or hospital for heart valve treatment.  As you will see in this video, I “un-wrap” a cardiac surgery outcomes report to reveal critical insights for a leading cardiac center.

Click here to see me “un-wrap” a cardiac surgery outcomes report.

Keep on tickin,
Adam

Hey everybody!

We just posted a new educational video with new medical insights and research about the use of minimally-invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis.  The video features Dr. G. Michael Deeb, who is the Inaugural Herbert Sloan Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  As you may know, Dr. Deeb is an aortic valve expert that specializes in TAVR which requires no incision to the patient’s chest or ribs.

Click here to see the new video about TAVR with Dr. Deeb.

Keep on tickin,
Adam

Wonderful news!!!

For the 6th time, I am happy to share that our community just sponsored a life-saving cardiac surgery for a child with heart valve disease.

 
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[June 28, 2024 Update: Thanks to the extraordinary response from the HeartValveSurgery.com community, the Women’s Aortic Stenosis Patient survey is now closed.]

To the Wonderful Women of the HeartValveSurgery.com Community,

Can I ask you for a quick favor? To help future patients, I want to learn more about the experiences of women who currently have aortic stenosis or previously had an aortic valve operation to treat aortic stenosis. That said, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts! Already, over 700 women have taken the survey!

In advance, thanks so much for your help!

I really appreciate it!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

In case you missed it… We just posted a new educational video all about the symptoms, the risks and the treatment of aortic stenosis.  The video features Dr. Ashish Aneja who is a leading cardiologist and aortic valve specialist at MetroHealth in Cleveland, Ohio.

Click here to see the new video about aortic stenosis symptoms, risks and treatment. 

Keep on tickin,
Adam

Henrik Lundqvist, the NHL superstar goalie of the New York Rangers, is doing an extraordinary job raising awareness to heart valve disease and aortic aneurysms.

 
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Woo-Hoo!!! Amazing!!! Wonderful!!!

I am beyond excited to share that Dr. Patrick McCarthy, the Executive Director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Medicine, just received his 200th patient testimonial at HeartValveSurgery.com.

 
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Big News!

We recently had a very special opportunity to interview Dr. Michael Reardon, the Co-Principal Investigator of the Medtronic Evolut Low-Risk TAVR Clinical Trial, while at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Conference in San Francisco, California. My chat with Dr. Reardon was specifically about the 4-year clinical trial results for the minimally-invasive Medtronic transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure in low-risk patients.

To learn new findings and research from the Medtronic Evolut Low-Risk TAVR Clinical Trial, click here to see my interview with Dr. Reardon.

Many thanks to Dr. Reardon for sharing his clinical experiences and research specific to the Medtronic TAVR procedure with our community.

Related Links:

• Learn about the Medtronic TAVR Procedure
• Research 50 Heart Teams that specialize in TAVR

Keep on tickin!
Adam