Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog – Page 9

Since launching HeartValveSurgery.com in 2006, I’ve received many patient questions about getting life insurance after heart surgery.  I have also learned the struggles and challenges that patients can experience trying to get life insurance after a heart valve repair or a heart valve replacement operation.

For these reasons, I am very excited to share that Gordon Conwell, a heart surgery patient from our community, has offered his excellent services to help you get life insurance following heart valve surgery.

Gordon Conwell (Heart Valve Patient & Life Insurance Agent)

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I recently jumped on a Zoom with Desmond, a 33-year-old patient from Ireland who was just diagnosed with a dilated aortic root. Given the life-threatening concerns of aortic aneurysms, Desmond had several important questions. One of those questions was, “Will my dilated aortic root progress to need surgery?”

Dr. Luis Castro & Desmond

To provide Desmond an expert opinion, I was very lucky to interview Dr. Luis Castro, the Medical Director of Cardiac Surgery at Dignity Health Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, California, about this very sensitive topic. As you may know, Dr. Castro is a long-time supporter of this website who has successfully treated over 190 heart valve patients from our community. Here is Dr. Castro’s response to Desmond’s question:
 
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For patients diagnosed with endocarditis, a dangerous infection that can cause severe heart valve disease, I just posted a new article, Endocarditis: Top 7 Facts People Should Know.  In this article, Dr. David Kaczorowski, Surgical Director of the UPMC Heart Transplant Program, provides several insights to help patients in our community.

Click here to read our new article about endocarditis and heart valve disease.

Keep on tickin!
Adam

As a follow-up to our recent post about stroke risk, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and cerebral protection, I just received an interesting question from Jeff.

Jeff asked me, “Hi Adam – I am curious if there is a correlation between age and stroke risk when having a TAVR procedure. My father and father in-law both had TAVR procedures within 6 months of each other. They were 89 and 91 respectively. Both sustained transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) within a few weeks following the procedure. My father sustained several TIAs which eventually effected his ability to swallow which resulted in his recent passing. My father in-law is now doing well. Before this article, we were feeling this was not coincidental and this confirmed our suspicions. At no time did either doctor mention inherent stroke risks with TAVR. Thanks for your diligent work in this field which has shed so much light for so many people.”

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Patient interest in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) remains incredibly high for people with aortic stenosis. As you may know, TAVR does not require an incision to the patient’s chest or ribs. In addition, patients do not go on the heart-lung machine and some patients are in the hospital for just one day.

At the same time, patients are concerned about the stroke risk associated with TAVR procedures. For this reason, we just interviewed Dr. Isaac George, a TAVR expert that has performed over 6,000 TAVRs, to learn more. Click here to see my interview with Dr. George about TAVR and stroke risk.

 
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I am very excited to announce that UT Southwestern Clinical Heart and Vascular Center just became the newest sponsor of HeartValveSurgery.com.

 
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Given the lifetime challenges and opportunities associated with heart valve disease (e.g. valve replacement failure, heart valve reoperations, etc.), the idea of “shared decision making” among patients and their doctors has become one of the important topics in heart valve disease right now.

To learn how patients and their doctors are using shared decision making to manage and treat heart valve disease, I just interviewed Ari Mintzer, a two-time heart valve surgery patient, and Dr. Eric Roselli,  the Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and Ari’s Surgeon.  As you will learn, Ari and Dr. Roselli have developed a unique plan to manage heart valve disease for the next 50 years of Ari’s life.

To learn more about shared decision making, Ari and Dr. Roselli, click here.

 
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Many thanks to Andy Dial, an avid 33-year-old fisherman from Puyallup, Washington, for sharing the amazing picture (below) from inside the operating room at UW Medicine Heart Institute in Seattle. So you know, Andy was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, aortic stenosis and Wolff-Parkinson White syndrome.  In addition, Andy’s aorta began to dilate over the years.

Andy Dial (Heart Valve Patient)

On June 15, 2022, Andy had a successful heart surgery performed by Dr. Christopher Burke, Co-Director of the Multidisciplinary Thoracic Aortic Program at UW Medicine. I know it’s a bit difficult to tell… But, do you have any idea what procedure or procedures Dr. Burke performed on Andy’s heart?

 
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Hey there,

In case you missed it… I just posted a new article and video about robotic mitral valve replacement that is getting a huge response from our patient community.

In the post, Dr. Robert Smith, Chairman of Cardiovascular Surgical Services at Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital – Plano, answers several important questions about this new, minimally-invasive treatment available now at select cardiac centers.

To learn about robotic mitral valve replacement, click here.

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I am very excited to announce that Yale University and Yale New Haven Health Heart and Vascular Center just became the newest sponsor of HeartValveSurgery.com.

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Thanks to all the wonderful patients in our community who entered our Summer Patient Giveaway!

As for the winner… I am excited to share that Deena, a mitral and tricuspid valve repair patient, from Virginia won the giveaway!!!
 

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I’m happy to share that our webinar, “Advances in Heart Valve Reoperations”, was a wonderful success!

The webinar touched on many important considerations for patients including the use of new, transcatheter Valve-in-Valve procedures. Featured speakers on the webinar included Dr. Charles Davidson, Professor of Cardiology at Northwestern Medicine, Dr. Christopher Mehta, Assistant Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Northwestern Medicine, and Joy Marks, a heart valve reoperation patient.

If you missed the webinar… No problem! Here is a video playback of the live event. This video has already been viewed over 15,000 times at YouTube!

 
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[Update: Great News! The “Advances in Heart Valve Reoperations” webinar with Dr. Davidson, Dr. Mehta and Joy Marks was an extraordinary success with over 750 patient registrations. Registration is no longer available for this event. Click here to watch the webinar playback . To download the free webinar eBook click here.]

I’m excited to announce that our LIVE and FREE patient education events continue this Thursday, June 30 at 6pm EST, with a special webinar, “Advances in Heart Valve Reoperations”.  The featured speakers are Dr. Charles Davidson, Professor of Cardiology at Northwestern Medicine, Dr. Christopher Mehta, Assistant Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Northwestern Medicine, Joy Marks, a heart valve reoperation patient, and me.

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[Update: Thanks so much to everybody who submitted an entry to our Summer Patient Giveaway.  We will announce the winner shortly!]

Woo-hoo! Summer is here!

To help you enjoy this fun time of year, we’re doing a special “HeartValveSurgery.com Summer Patient Giveaway” for the wonderful patients in our community. You can enter to win all the goodies shown below.

 
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Unbelievable!

I am just learning that the picture we posted of Charlie, a heart valve patient, has gone viral at our Facebook page  As you can see below, Charlie’s picture has received over 7,000 Likes, more than 1,100 comments, and 150 timeline shares at Facebook.  So you know, Charlie had a successful aortic valve replacement procedure performed by Dr. Douglas Johnston at the Cleveland Clinic.

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Have you ever wondered, “How is a tissue heart valve replacement assembled?”

If so… This video of the Avalus tissue valve, which I just came across on YouTube, might be interesting to you.  Although there is no sound in the video, it’s really quite amazing to see how the different elements of this valve come together including the frame, the leaflets and the stitching.
 

 
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The gals and guys in the HeartValveSurgery.com community are downright wonderful.  When I need your help, you always show-up for me and, more importantly, for all the patients in our community.

For example,  I recently asked for your help regarding a Medicare reimbursement problem specific to surgical ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation during heart valve procedures.  As you might recall, up to 35% of patients with heart valve disease also have AFib.  In that post, I asked the patients at HeartValveSurgery.com to submit a letter to Medicare requesting enhanced reimbursement to hospitals performing surgical ablation during heart valve surgery.

 
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Hey everybody,

In case you missed it… I just posted a new article and video about the recent FDA approval of the Epic Plus tissue heart valve replacement that does not require anti-coagulant therapy.  In the post, Dr. Kenith Fang, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Banner University Medical Center Phoenix, answers several important questions about the unique technologies in the Epic Plus that are designed to help patients manage heart valve disease throughout their lifetime.

To learn about the new Epic Plus heart valve, click here.

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After my heart surgery and Robyn’s brain surgery, we re-committed ourselves to a healthy life. For the physical component of that lifestyle, the two of us became Peloton enthusiasts.

Scratch that.  We’re beyond enthusiasts. We’re Peloton addicts.

One of the many reasons for that addiction is the Peloton instructors. Every time I get on the bike, I learn something new from them. I might learn something about my health and body.  I might learn something about the music they play.  And, I might learn something about being a better human on this planet.

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Help! Please! It’s Urgent!

If you didn’t know, patients with heart valve disease are up to 35% more likely to experience atrial fibrillation (AFib) which can increase their stroke risk by 5 times, according to the American Heart Association. Unfortunately, AFib is not treated in up to 76% of heart valve procedures. Yikes!!!

To make the situation worse… I am just learning that patients may not get adequate treatment due to low hospital reimbursements from Medicare. This means that instead of having one operation to treat heart valve disease and AFib at the same time, patients may need a second procedure to treat AFib. As a result, patients have to stay on AFib medications, experience debilitating symptoms, and be concerned about stroke risk.  Uggh!!!

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