Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog – Page 38

Today, I was very fortunate to attend the Dallas-Leipzig Valve Conference in Dallas, Texas. While I had heard of this conference in the past, I had no idea about this size of the conference, its world renown faculty or its Transatlantic approach to education.

Interestingly… Each year, the host city of the conference alternates between Leipzig, Germany and Dallas, Texas.

The goal of the conference, as  I understand it, is to bring together valve specialists — both cardiologists and surgeons — to engage in meaningful lectures, case studies, and debates about best practices for valvular therapy.

Continue reading this post »

In July, we learned that Northwestern Memorial Hospital launched the first Bicuspid Aortic Valve Program in the country.

As I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, I was eager to learn more about this program. For that reason, I traveled to Chicago to meet with Dr. Patrick McCarthy, the Chief of Cardiac surgery at Northwestern. So you know, Dr. McCarthy is a valve surgeon guru. During his remarkable career, Dr. McCarthy has performed thousands of heart valve procedures and is one of the most recommended surgeons at our website.

For the patients and caregivers in our community who are hearing impaired, I have included a written transcript of this interview below.

Continue reading this post »

I am very excited to share that Dr. Steven Bolling has been named our current ‘Featured Heart Valve Surgeon’ at HeartValveSurgery.com.

Over the years, Dr. Bolling has been an incredible supporter of our website. In addition to contributing his time to our educational efforts, Dr. Bolling has performed successful surgery on many members of our community including Jeff Adams, Steve Griffith and Elizabeth Knowlton. So you know… During his 27-year career, Dr. Bolling has performed over 5,500 heart valve procedures.

Dr. Steven Bolling – Heart Valve Surgeon

To help you learn more about this innovative surgeon, here is a video I recently filmed with Dr. Bolling at the Heart Valve Summit.

Continue reading this post »

Good news! Six years into this project, I finally made it to the American Heart Association conference.

Adam Pick at the American Heart Association in Los Angeles

Needless to say, the event lived up to expectations. The conference was full of great lectures, amazing exhibits and a lots of people.

Continue reading this post »

I just received an interesting question from Norman, who is preparing for his second heart surgery.

In his email, Norman writes to me, “Hi Adam — Is it feasible to correct Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) which I’ve had for 5 years since my first, quintuple bypass surgery. I am due to have an aortic valve replacement, mitral valve repair, another bypass graft and Maze procedure for A-Fib . Some reports say Atrial Fibrillation cannot be fixed after 3 years? Thanks, Norman”

To provide Norman an appropriate answer, I contacted Doctor Marc Gerdisch, MD, the Chairman of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at St. Francis Heart Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Doctor Gerdisch, who has performed over 1,500 heart valve procedures, specializes in mitral valve repair and atrial fibrillation treatment.

Dr. Marc Gerdisch

In the first part of his response, Dr. Gerdisch identified Norman’s condition and potential treatment options:

Continue reading this post »

On behalf of Ethan (my son) and Robyn (my wife), I wanted to wish all of the patients, caregivers, doctors, nurses, cardiac centers and medical device manufacturers, a very Happy Thanksgiving!

So you know, this is my favorite holiday. I love the food — especially the turkey, the stuffing and the pumpkin pie. I love the time with our family and friends. I love the football. I love watching movies with Ethan and Robyn. Most importantly, I love the quiet time I spend reflecting on all the goodness in our lives. Each year, this website becomes a bigger part of that goodness. That said, thank you for being a part of this extraordinary community.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends!!!
Adam

P.S. The picture above was taken during last Halloween. Ethan is still a “Buzz Lightyear” fanatic. This was the second consecutive year that Ethan was Buzz, Robyn was Jessie and I was Woody from the Toy Story movies. 🙂

Great news!!!

Last week, over 150 patients and caregivers registered for a special online webinar titled, “Advancements in Aortic Valve Surgery”. During the event, Dr. Charles Davidson and Dr. Chris Malaisrie discussed transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), a new technology for aortic valve replacement that requires no incision to the patient’s sternum.

Continue reading this post »

This Wednesday, November 7th, I am going to host a live, online webinar titled, “Advancements in Aortic Valve Surgery”with Dr. Davidson and Dr. Malaisrie from Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Already, over 100 patients have registered for this webinar! Given the exciting topic of this educational event, I have received several questions about the webinar from our community. To help you learn more, I have provided below the top five questions about this webinar below.

1. Is The Webinar Free To Attend?

Yes. The webinar is free for all attendees.

2. Can I Still Register For The Webinar?

Yes. Registration is still available. To register, click here.

Continue reading this post »

There’s nothing better than opening an email and reading a patient success story.

That said, here’s a great update from Leo Hernandez. As you might recall, I first posted about Leo in 2009 after his bicuspid aortic valve was replaced Doctor Richard Shemin, MD at UCLA in Los Angeles. In his email, Leo writes to me:

Leo Hernandez – Aortic Valve Replacement Patient

Dear Adam,

Thanks for using my picture with Dr. Shemin on your October 19 issue of your newsletter. To let you know, it’s been now 3 years and 9 months since my aortic valve replacement by Dr. Richard Shemin on January 6, 2009.

Continue reading this post »

Amazing news!

Earlier this week, I announced our upcoming educational webinar titled, “Advancements in Aortic Valve Surgery”. Since that announcement, over 100 patients and caregivers have registered for the event that will feature Dr. Davidson and Dr. Malaisrie of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

If you would like to attend the event — which is scheduled for next Wednesday at 12pm CST.

I look forward to speaking with you live next Wednesday!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

While reading through your questions submitted for the Heart Valve Summit, I noticed several patients asking about treating mitral valve disease and atrial fibrillation at the same time.

For that reason, I met with Dr. Harold Roberts, a very experienced valve surgeon. Here are the highlights from our discussion. (If you are hearing impaired, I have provided a written transcript of this video below.)

Continue reading this post »

I am excited to announce that we will be hosting a Live Educational Webinar about the latest advancements in aortic valve surgery including transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The webinar — which is free for all patients and caregivers — will be held on Wednesday, November 7 from 12pm-1pm CST.

As you may know, TAVI devices enable cardiologists and surgeons to replace diseased aortic valves without any incision to the patient’s sternum.

Continue reading this post »

I just received a great question from Anne. In her note, Anne writes, “How long can a patient expect to feel their heart beating so strongly after heart valve replacement surgery?”

To answer Anne’s question, I was fortunate to meet with Rawn Salenger, MD, Director of Heart Valve Surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York. Here are the highlights from our discussion. For the patients and caregivers in our community who are hearing impaired, you will find a written transcript of this video below.

Thanks to Anne for her question and a special thanks to Dr. Rawn Salenger for sharing his clinical experiences with our community.

Continue reading this post »

As we continue to monitor the roll-out of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) technologies, I just learned about a recent study for the CoreValve.

Medtronic CoreValve TAVI Device

Medtronic, the manufacturer of the CoreValve, just announced encouraging data for the device which is (i) commercially available in Europe and (ii) in clinical trials in the United States.

Data published from the study showed that:

Continue reading this post »

Prior to the Heart Valve Summit, I received over 70 patient questions for the doctors at the conference. In her question, Kim asked, “Hi Adam, I have a bicuspid aortic valve with a valve size of .6 and a gradient of 80. When can I expect to have surgery?”

To answer Kim’s question, I was very fortunate to meet and interview Dr. Robert Bonow, who is a Past President of The American Heart Association and current Professor of Cardiology at Northwestern University. I have posted a written transcript of this video (below) for the patients and caregivers who are hearing impaired.

Continue reading this post »

Patient interest specific to transcatheter aortic valve implantation is very, very, very high. However, patients with mitral valve disorders, including mitral regurgitation, are wondering, “What about me? Are there any catheter-based solutions for mitral valve surgery?”

To answer that question, I interviewed Doctor Steven Bolling at the Heart Valve Summit. So you know, Dr. Bolling is the Director of the Mitral Valve Clinic at the University of Michigan. During his career, Dr. Bolling has performed over 3,000 mitral valve procedures. (If you are hearing impaired, a written transcript of this interview is provided below.)

Continue reading this post »

Leading up to the Heart Valve Summit, I received an interesting question from Jim. He asked,  “Adam – What is the likely progression of systolic anterior motion of the chordae?”

To answer Jim’s question, I met with Doctor David Adams, MD, one of the Program Directors of the Heart Valve Summit and the Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center. The highlights of our discussion are featured in this video. Also, for the patients and caregivers in our community who are hearing impaired, I have provided a written transcript of this conversation below.

Continue reading this post »

I’ve said it before and, hopefully, I will be saying it again…. I love hearing from the patients in our community after their surgeries!

This time, Shelly Gould, from Redding, California, sent me a collage of her first anniversary from mitral valve repair. Doctor Luis Castro from Sequoia Heart & Vascular Institute performed Shelly’s surgery.

Congratulations to Shelly!!!

Keep on tickin!
Adam

I’m just returning home to Los Angeles after spending the past few days at the Heart Valve Summit in Chicago. This special event brings together leading cardiologists and surgeons to discuss the optimum treatment of valve disease. Needless to say, the event was… Amazing!

In the near future, I will be posting several videos filmed during the event. However, in the meantime, here are some pictures that I took at the Heart Valve Summit. Here’s a picture of the Grand Ballrooom that was filled with over 400 physicians during the conference.

I was lucky to reconnect with Doctor David Adams, MD, the Program Director of the Heart Valve Summit, and Gideon Sims, the Senior Director, Information Technology & Web Strategy at Mount Sinai.

Continue reading this post »

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be at the Heart Valve Summit in Chicago, Illinois. During the conference, I will be very fortunate to meet with several physicians that specialize in heart valve treatment including Dr. McCarthy, Dr. Chitwood, Dr. Bolling and Dr. Adams.

Do you have any questions about your diagnosis, your symptoms, the different types of valve surgery or anything else? If so, please scroll below or email me at adam@heartvalvesurgery.com.

As shown on our videos page, your question may be featured in a live video interview that will be featured at our website.

Keep on tickin!
Adam