Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog – Page 83

Every so often I receive an email that really makes me remember my heart valve surgery experience, especially the recovery.

Some of those memories are joyful. And, some of those are…. well… not so joyful.

This blog is in response to an email that reads, “How sore are your chest muscles after heart surgery?”

Hmmmmm. To answer that question, I have to let you know that there are many different types of heart surgery – some procedures require the sternum to be split and some heart surgeries are noninvasive that do not require “chest cracking”.  There are also transcatheter procedures that do not require an incision to the patient’s chest or ribs.

My aortic and pulmonary valve replacements surgery (the Ross Procedure) required my chest bone to be broken to give the surgeon better access to my heart.

That said, I will respond to the question about chest muscles after surgery from my own personal perspective. Make sense? Okay. Here goes.

“Owwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Yep. That about sums it up! I could go on and on but I won’t. So you know, I have interviewed hundreds of patients about their chest muscles after heart surgery and they all basically say the same thing, “It hurts! But, sore chest muscles after heart surgery is a small pain for a long-term gain!”

Here’s the good news… There are many new medical advances that are making heart surgery recovery much more comfortable for patients. In fact, some patients suggest they are no longer experiencing pain after surgery and many do not take any form of opioids after their procedure.

To learn all about these new techniques for managing pain after heart surgery, please review these links:

• Rigid Sternal Fixation: A New Approach to Sternal Closure
• Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery: Top 5 Facts
• Cryoanalgesia: What Should Patients Know?

Keep on tickin!
Adam

There are a number of symptoms for mitral valve prolapse as I have written about in a prior blog. However, I just received a patient email asking, “Can you have back pain with mitral valve prolapse?”

This is a pretty interesting question. I’ll tell you why.

First, for three years before my heart valve surgery I had chronic, lower back pain. I saw chiropractors. I saw massage therapists. I had prolotherapy done. I had cranial sacral therapy. I even went to a Chinese healer.

Guess what? Nothing helped!

The other reason this is interesting because after my heart surgery recovery, I noticed that my lower back pain was no longer present. It’s been awhile now since my aortic and pulmonary valve replacements (about 20 months), but my lower back pain is gone.

Interesting, right?

Maybe back pain is a symptom of heart valve disorders including aortic stenosis and mitral valve regurgitation? So you know, I just did some research on this topic in Google and medical journals.  I visited the websites of Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic to see if there was some research about back pain and heart valve disease. Unfortunately, I did not find any literature on this topic.

Anyways, that’s about all I know about back pain as a symptom of mitral valve prolapse.

Related Links:

• What Are the Symptoms of Heart Valve Disease?
• Leaking Heart Valve Symptoms: What Should Patients Know?

Keep on tickin!
Adam

I just received a great patient mail that asks, “Hi Adam, What do valves in the heart do?”

Considering the complexity of the body and your heart, it’s a great question.

Often times, I find that answering this question helps both heart valve surgery patients and caregivers.

The answer to the question, “What do heart valves do?”, is actually pretty simple. The four valves in your heart – mitral valve, aortic valve, tricuspid valve and pulmonary valve – are used to control the flow of blood through your heart.

When heart valves function properly, the valves help blood move in the heart in one direction. However, when there are problems with a heart valve (aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation, calcified leaflets, etc.), blood can flow backwards or blood can not freely flow through the heart.

If a heart valve defect or heart valve disorder is significant, several long-term problems can occur for the patient. That is why heart valve surgery – either heart valve repair or heart valve replacement – may be required.

I hope that helps answers your question of, “What do valves in the heart do?”

Related Links:

• Heat Valve Anatomy: Disease, Disorders & Infection
• How Is Heart Valve Disease Diagnosed?

Keep on tickin!
Adam

One of the many things I love about life is… Food.

In fact, right now I’m waiting for my new bride, Robyn, to get home from work so we can go out for dinner and officially start the weekend. But, as of this moment… SHE’S LATE AND I’M STARVING!!!

I guess that brings up a pretty interesting topic… Foods For People That Had Open Heart Surgery!!!

My gut tells me you might want to know if your food consumption will change following cardiac surgery including open heart valve repair or open heart valve replacement.

“Am I right?” (If no, skip this blog.)

Oh, good. You’re still reading. That must mean you’re somewhat interested to know whether or not there are any special foods for patients that had open heart surgery.

So you know, I had aortic valve replacement in 2005. One of the reasons I chose this surgical option (known as the Ross Procedure) was because I did not want to take any medication (Coumadin) after my heart valve surgery to prevent clotting on a mechanical valve.

Continue reading this post »

I write this blog nearly 20 years after open heart surgery. In 2005, I had a double heart valve replacement surgery via the Ross Procedure.

So you know, I am now fully recovered. I am back surfing after heart surgery and I just Scuba dived with Ethan, my son, seventeen years after my aortic and pulmonary valve replacements.

“Why I am I telling you this?”

I share this with you – the patient or caregiver – to help you understand that most patients do not die from open heart cardiac surgery. Trust me. The statistics are real.

Continue reading this post »

Every once and a while I get stumped by a patient question. Sometimes, I get really stumped. Today is one of those days.

I just received an email that I will do my best to answer. However, if you have anything to add, feel free to provide some insight in the comments section of this blog.  The patient question reads, “Hi Adam, What is mitral valve buckling? Thanks!”

So you know, this is the first time I ever heard of mitral valve buckling. So, I did a little research. It appears that mitral valve buckling appears to be directly associated with mitral valve prolapse. As you can read in this post, mitral valve prolapse results when one of the heart valve flaps (also known as a mitral valve leaflet) moves back into the atrium when the heart beats. This “prolapse” can let blood flow from the ventricle back into the atrium as shown in the picture of the anatomy of the heart below.

The phrase “mitral valve prolapse” was popularized due to the rise of echocardiograms to diagnose heart valve disease. However, according to research articles, including “The Echocardiographic Assessment of the Floppy Mitral Valve”, prolapse was first described during angiograms as a “buckling motion” of the mitral leaflets into the left atrium.

An additional reference to mitral valve buckling is noted in an article published at the National Library of Medicine, “Ventricular buckling: a factor in the abnormal ventriculogram and peculiar hemodynamics associated with mitral valve prolapse”, which states, “Abnormal intraventicular flow may probably result from associated prolapse of the anterior leaflet and from buckling of the papillary sties toward the mitral annulus.”

So, unless I’m missing something, it appears that mitral valve prolapse and mitral valve buckling are actually one in the same. It is more of a definition issue than anything else. Hope that helps!

Related Links:

• Mitral Valve Prolapse: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment
• Mitral Leaflets: Top 7 Facts Patients Should Know

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Good news!

As many of you will find out, the time leading up to the actual heart valve surgery operation can be quite anxious. At times, the fear of heart valve repair or heart valve replacement procedures can leave the patient and caregiver sleepless.

That said, one of the BEST parts of the heart surgery experience is when the operation is OVER.

Many times, I hear from my book readers or their caregivers following surgery. Today, was one of those days. Two caregivers for Melissa Causey, her husband (Bryan) and her uncle (Ted), sent me two excellent updates. (FYI, Melissa had the Ross Procedure, also known as the Switch Procedure, performed by Dr. William Ryan in Texas.)

Apparently, Melissa is a “Star” heart surgery patient. According to Bryan, Dr. Ryan completed the aortic and pulmonary valve replacements in about five hours. The big news is that Melissa was sitting up in her chair four hours later. That’s an INCREDIBLE start to recovery!

Go Melissa! Go!!!

Melissa Causey’s Caregivers Read The Patient’s Guide
To Heart Valve Surgery During Her Heart Valve Surgery

As for Ted’s email to me, I had to share it word-for-word with y’all (that’s my best Texas accent). It really made me smile from ear-to-ear. Here it is:

Adam,I thought you’d get a kick out of this. The picture (above) was taken in the waiting room shortly after we learned Melis was undergoing the Ross Procedure.Note the book on Cheryl’s (Melissa’s cousin) lap. And, I’m sure you can guess where Bryan was surfin’ on his laptop. Ted

I’m amazed! I never thought this book and website would end up in a surgical waiting room in Texas. As my mom said to me yesterday, “You have turned a lemon – your surgery – into lemonade.”

Keep on tickin!
Adam

For all you Michiganders out there… I recently came across Dr. Ali Kafi while watching some heart valve surgery videos online. Here is some information about Dr. Kafi.

Ali Kafi , M.D. is board certified in thoracic surgery and specializes in surgical ventricular restoration and transmyocardial revascularization.

In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Kafi is an educator – teaching other surgeons how to perform complex surgical procedures. Ali Kafi has published articles and presented on various thoracic surgery topics. Dr. Ali Kafi practices at the Detroit Medical Center.
 
 

If there are any cardiothoracic surgeons you would like me to profile, please let me know.

Keep on tickin!
Adam

A great patient question just came in about waking up in the intensive care unit. It reads, “Adam, when I come to (wake up) in the intensive care unit will I be on respirators after open heart surgery.”

There are two possibilities here. “Yes”, you will be on a respirator connected to a vent tube or breathing tube, after surgery. The other answer to this questions is… “No”, you will not be on a respirator after heart surgery.

If you wake up with the ventilator tube you may or may not remember it. I know that’s a little tricky but you have to remember that your mind and body will be heavily sedated from the anesthesia administered during your cardiac procedure. That said, the body will need some help “waking up”. Specifically, your lungs need some help. For that reason, most patients are on respirators after open heart surgery. The respirator can also help clear any excess fluid out of the lungs.

My Picture Just After The Vent Tube Is Removed

Continue reading this post »

In prior posts and discussion, I have called open heart surgery a medical miracle. The fact that a surgeon can open you, stop your heart, fix it, start it again and then stitch you up is, in my opinion, AMAZING!!

However, as a patient, I remember an immense amount of fear related to the “miracle”. My concern was not related to the success of the operation or my own mortality (click here to see why).

Instead, one of my biggest concerns was the “cracking of my sternum”. As an athlete, I had broken bones before. However, the central and sensitive nature of the chest did make think twice (if not a hundred) times as I headed into my operation. I was just very curious to know what the sternum fracture healing process would be like.

That said, I thought you all might like to see an xray of sternum before and after open heart surgery involving a cracked chest (aka median sternotomy). The first sternum xray is provided below. As you can see the chest plate is smooth and clear of any fracture.

Xray Of Sternum Before Open Heart Surgery

Continue reading this post »

My inbox just received an email that I can relate too.

The email reads, “Adam, What are the symptoms of bacterial endocarditis? Is chest pain a symptom of endocarditis?”

Before I dive straight into the answer, you should know that I was initially diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve as a little boy. I think I was five years old when I learned about my heart murmur.

From that moment on, I had to pre-medicate every time I saw the dentist. My mom told me it was very, very, very important to take medication every time I went for a cleaning or a cavity filling.

Now, I don’t like the dentist to begin with… So, this just added to my resistance.

At the time, I had no idea that my parents and dentist were protecting me from the problems of bacterial endocarditis. For those of you who don’t know, bacterial endocarditis is an infection of the heart’s inner lining (endocardium) or the heart valves. Problems of bacterial endocarditis can damage or even destroy your heart valves.

According to the American Heart Association, there are about 29,000 cases of endocarditis diagnosed a year.

Continue reading this post »

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to give you a quick update on Melissa Causey from Texas.  Her surgery was rescheduled for this Tuesday. If you have a minute, please send her a great, big healthy thought!

FYI, Melissa is having the Ross Procedure performed by Dr. William Ryan.

Here’s a picture of Melissa, her husband (Brian) and their daughter (Abigayle).

You’re going to do great Melissa!

Keep on tickin,
Adam

P.S. Your Uncle Ted loves you lots and lots!!!

It’s one thing to be diagnosed with a heart valve disorder. It’s another thing to be told that your heart valve problem has worsened and you need heart valve surgery.

I remember that moment all too well. I also remember the next set of thoughts that raced through my mind as my cardiologist gave me the sixty-second overview on heart valve replacement surgery. Questions immediately raced through my mind as the cardiologist spoke to me about open heart surgery and my diseased aortic valve.

• Who will be my surgeon?
• What surgical option should I choose?
• When should I schedule heart valve surgery?

For patients requiring heart valve replacement surgery, another question that arises is, “Which valve should I select for my replacement? What are the pros and cons of that replacement valve type?”

As you are probably aware, there are several types heart valve replacements – cow valves, pig valves, mechanical valves, human donor valves (homograft), and your own valve (an autograft used for the Ross Procedure).

Recently, I received an email, that focused on the biological valve replacement alternatives from animals – including cow and pig valves. The question was simply, “Adam, what are the adverse effects of pig valves?”

Before answering the question, you should know a little bit about pig valves. First off, the more scientific name for pig valves are porcine valves. That’s not a critical point but it does sound a tad better.

Continue reading this post »

Earlier today, I received a great patient email that reads, “I’m scheduled for heart valve surgery in two weeks, can you please tell me what is the usual prep for open heart surgery?”

That is a very important question for one critical reason. As I personally learned during my open heart surgery experience, knowing what to expect before-and-after surgery is incredibly helpful for the patient and their caregivers. Ultimately, knowing the preparations leading up to surgery may eliminate potential confusion and fear. (So you know, there are all different types of fear related to heart surgery – mortality, physical recovery, pain, operative success, reoperation, etc. To help minimize fear, you may want to read this post about dispelling the fear of heart surgery.)

Preparations for Open Heart Surgery

Let’s back to the original question, “What is the usual prep for open heart surgery?”

I can detail some common elements in this post. However, you should know this is a very difficult question to answer as different medical teams and hospitals may have different protocols and processes to complete an open heart surgery.  For example, one hospital may adhere to the Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery (ERAS) protocol while another cardiac center may follow a different protocol.

That being said, here are some of the common steps and preparations that your medical may require prior to surgery:

• Blood work to determine your blood type and other parameters of your body chemistry. If you like, you may draw blood in advance of the surgery. Otherwise, the hospital can typically match your blood via their blood bank if a transfusion is required. Here’s a video about blood transfusions with Dr. Edward Soltesz at the Cleveland Clinic to help you learn more.

• Urine analysis to evaluate body function. Specifically, urine can be helpful in understanding the functioning of your bladder and kidneys.
• You may also need an angiogram before heart surgery.  An angiogram, also known as a cardiac catheterization, will help your medical team learn about potential issues with blocked arteries (e.g. coronary artery disease).

Angiogram (Cardiac Catheterization)

• Pre-surgery imaging of your heart using an echocardiogram or other technology (CT Scan, MRI, 4D-MRI Flow, etc.) may be required to ensure the appropriate surgical technique and/or method is deployed.
• An electrocardiogram may be required to examine the rhythm of your heartbeat and further screen for any cardiovascular disease including atrial fibrillation.
• You will most likely be required to sign a consent for surgery which details the nature of your procedure and the risks associated with the operation.

I hope this helps you learn more about the common preparations for heart surgery!

Related Links:

• Blood Bank Safety: Important Patient Information
• What Can Heart Surgery Patients Expect In the Hospital?
• Rapid Recovery Protocol 2.0: What Should You Know?

Keep on tickin,
Adam

When it comes to a successful open heart surgery recovery program, cardiac rehab exercise is critical. Although your cardiologist and heart surgeon may have a cardiac rehab program already lined up for you post-operation, you may need to find your own cardiac rehab center. (To learn more, please see “Cardiologist Insights: The Importance of Cardiac Rehab“)

“Why does Adam care so much about helping me find the right cardiac recovery program?” you may be asking yourself.

Well, after my surgery… Neither my surgeon or cardiologist suggested a cardiac rehab exercise program for me. Eight weeks after my open heart surgery, the result of not attending a cardiac rehab center was devastating. My upper chest was a mess. Specifically, my incision area was incredibly sore and my physical confidence was gone.

I think because I was on the younger side of open heart surgery patients (33 years old), my doctors felt I would “snap-back” into shape. That was a faulty assumption in my case. (FYI, I learned a lot about this misconception while doing research for my book. In actuality, only 49% of patients register and attend cardiac rehab programs during their recovery. In my opinion, cardiac rehab exercise is a must for an efficient and healthy recovery from open heart surgery.)

Anyways, my mom and I located a cardiac rehab program after consulting with a pain management specialist.

Me (Adam) at Cardiac Rehab Program

Continue reading this post »

Ready for a crash course called, “Heart Surgery History 101”?

I don’t know about you… But, as I was preparing for a double heart valve replacement surgery of my aortic and pulmonary valves, some of the questions that ruminated in my cranium were:

• “How long has open heart surgery been around for?”
• “What’s the history of heart valve surgery?”
• “Is a heart-lung machine a new idea or an old idea?”
• “Who was the first cardiac surgeon?”

In light of these questions, I did what most heart valve surgery patients do… I Google’d it!!!!

I wanted to know more about the cardiac surgery history and guess what… Google did not let me down.

Under the search term cardiac surgery history, there were over 2.1 million pages of information.

Under the search term heart valve surgery history, there were 1.7 million pages of information.

And, under the search term heart lung machine, there were 1.9 million pages of information.

(FYI, for fun, I Google’d my own name, Adam Pick. I did the search in quotes – like this “adam pick” – to filter random queries. Only 1,150 pages of information. I guess I’m not as popular as the heart surgery terms above.)

With that said, I found some bits of information and created a page of information to help you better understand the history of heart valve surgery and heart bypass surgery. Click below to read it!

Cardiac Surgery History Including Heart Valve Surgery History And Cardiac Bypass

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Hey everybody,

Ever since I launched this site and published my book, I have received many, many, many emails from the caregivers of patients needing or recovering from heart valve surgery – both heart valve replacement and heart valve repair.

Needless to say, these emails are beyond touching and heartwarming (pun intended). 🙂

It is soooooooo wonderful to read about the love and support that family and friends have for those needing help. I’m trying to post a lot of these stories on this blog, but it is really hard to keep up. The stories of Ted Eisenmann and Michelle Browning exemplify what I’m talking about.

For this reason, I wanted to take a quick, electronic moment to acknowledge all of the caregivers that are helping their loved ones through this trying time. If that means you… Thank you for all you do! Thank you for doing research on heart valve surgery! Thank you for easing the mind of your loved one. Thank you visiting this site!

You are making a tremendous difference in the life of the person you care for!!!

That said, “Cheers To You!!!!”
 

FYI, this is a picture of Robyn and I on our honeymoon in Fiji last month. I must say, Robyn is not only my wife, she is my inspiration. During my recovery from double heart valve replacement surgery, I suffered a number of setbacks. Each time, Robyn was there to support me, to encourage me and, most importantly, to listen to me. I am so thankful we were setup on a blind date three years ago.

Keep on tickin!
Adam

I just received an interesting email from Carol that directly relates to heart surgery recovery. Carol writes, “Hi Adam – My husband had mitral valve replacement three weeks ago. I’m curious… Did you experience depression after heart valve surgery? Is it common for patients to experience cardiac depression following heart valve repair or heart valve replacement?”

Let me start by answering Carol’s first question. Yes, I did experience both heart surgery and depression. I had my pulmonary and aortic valves replaced in 2005. As for cardiac depression, I did not have any immediate form of depression during my 5 days in the hospital or during the first three weeks following my heart valve replacement surgery recovery. However, as I entered into my fourth week of recovery, I did begin to experience many symptoms of this post-operative condition.

Continue reading this post »

There are many ways to diagnose diseased or defected heart valves. One of the simplest methods to diagnose problematic heart valves is to listen to the patient’s heart beat through a stethoscope.

During my diagnosis, my cardiologist listened to my heart murmur sound and said, “Yep. That is definitely the sound of a heart murmur!” As it turned out, I had a bicuspid aortic valve that suffered from stenosis and regurgitation.

I was always curious to know what my heart sounded like. I knew there was a muffle sound to it which indicated the murmur. However, I never heard exactly how a heart beat sound differed between a normal heart sound and an abnormal heart sound.

Well… I recently searched Google and YouTube, looking for heart sound audio. I was amazed what I found by simply typing “listen to heart sound” in the search engine.

Adam Listening to His Heart

I even pulled out my own stethoscope to see how my heart sounded now versus the other abnormal sounds on the web. My heart sounded pretty darn good after my double (aortic and pulmonary) valve replacement!

That said, here are some heart sounds and an educational explanation if you would like to hear the murmurs for yourself:

I hope that helped you learn more about normal and abnormal heart sounds.

Related Links:

• True or False: A Heart Murmur Is Similar To A Rocky River?
• Heart Murmurs: What Should Patients Know?

Keep on tickin!
Adam

As most heart valve surgery patients will share with you, there is a certain amount of fear that appears during the recovery from open heart surgery. As an heart valve surgery patient, your sternum has been cracked and your heart has been stitched….. OUCH!!!

That said, most patients typically require a recovery period following heart valve surgery which is used to restore (i) mental confidence and (ii) physical capability of the upper chest. As a former cardiac surgery patient, I can personally relate and attest to this.

From stretching at cardiac rehab to running along the beach, it takes a significant amount of time to heal and get back in the physical swing of things. The saying, “No pain. No gain.” actually applies somewhat to heart valve surgery recovery.

I’ll never forget when my surgeon told me to “Play through it Adam!” Dr. Vaughn Starnes, my cardiothoracic surgeon, was referring to the soreness and pain I complained about in my chest. “Your heart is doing great,” he said, “Better than before! Now you just need to play through it. Your discomfort is muscular-skeletal.”

I took those words of wisdom to heart (pun intended).

Soon enough, I found myself lifting light weights, swimming laps in the pool, riding my bike and even running. Once I graduated from cardiac rehab, I took on another challenge… Returning to my surfboard!!! (See my “Surf’s Up!” blog to read about my return to surfing.)

Recently, I broke through another physical barrier that I will share with you:

In 1999, I became a certified SCUBA diver. Shortly thereafter, I became a SCUBA diving nut. During the following five years, I logged over 100 dives across the United States, Mexico, the Carribean, Bali and Thailand. SCUBA diving is an amazing sport. It’s probably the closest I will ever get to being an astronaut.

Considering my valves were replaced using the via the Ross Procedure in 2005, I figured that my days of SCUBA were over! However, just to be sure, I emailed Dr. Starnes and asked him whether or not I could SCUBA dive following my cardiac surgery. His response was clear. The email read, “You are fine to go scuba diving after heart surgery.”

I have to admit I was happy and concerned at the same time. On one hand, I desperately wanted to get back in the water, submerge 50 feet and swim with all types of fish, eels, sharks, coral and anemones. On the other hand, I was a little frightened that Scuba diving after heart surgery could be disastrous. “What if something wrong happens?” I thought to myself. “What if the pressure under water compromises my valves?” A million different “What if’s” drifted through my brain.

Well… Fear, as you probably know, can be a dangerous mind-game. Someone once told me that fear is really nothing more than a foolish acronym, F.E.A.R.

• False
• Experiences
• Appearing
• Real

Life is too short to be controlled by F.E.A.R., right?

Needless to say, during my recent honeymoon to Fiji… I slipped into a wetsuit, popped on my buoyancy control device, and.. BLEW SOME BUBBLES!!! (That’s diver slang for going SCUBA diving.)

Guess what? I’m still alive!!!!

Guess what? Robyn, my new bride, also dived with me. It was her first dive. She did great!!!

Now… What else can I do? Maybe… Go to Tibet and climb Mount Everest like Veronika Meyer?

We’ll see!

I hope this helped you learn more about Scuba diving after heart surgery.

Related Link:

• 17 Years After Heart Surgery, This Happened While Scuba Diving

Keep on tickin!
Adam