{"id":8608,"date":"2012-06-08T17:39:37","date_gmt":"2012-06-08T22:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/?p=8608"},"modified":"2025-06-06T18:03:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T23:03:56","slug":"how-long-is-my-heart-stopped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2012\/06\/08\/how-long-is-my-heart-stopped\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHow Long Is My Heart Iced & Stopped During Surgery?\u201d Asks Steve"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just received an interesting email from Steve about the time in which the heart is iced and stopped during heart valve replacement and heart valve repair surgery.<\/p>\n

In his email, Steve writes, “Hi Adam – I am having mitral valve repair surgery<\/a> next month. One glaring question… I\u2019ve read that when the heart is stopped<\/a> it is “iced” and therefore can last 2-4 hours without tissue damage.\u00a0 However, a whole bunch of these surgeries take between 4-7 hours, sometimes more.\u00a0How do we reconcile the discrepancy? Thank you, Steve”<\/p>\n

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\"Ice
\nIce Chips On Heart During Cooling Process<\/p>\n

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Steve raises a great question. For that reason, I contacted Dr. Marc Gillinov to get a great answer. If you were unaware, Dr. Gillinov is a staff surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, co-author of Heart 411<\/em> and a super nice guy.<\/p>\n

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\"Dr.Dr. Marc Gillinov<\/p>\n

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In his response, Dr. Gillinov noted:<\/p>\n

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With current techniques to protect the heart, we can have the heart stopped for 3-4 hours with no problem. For most operations, an hour or two suffices. The entire operation may take 4 or 5 hours, but the heart is only stopped for an hour or two of this total.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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As many of patients in our community are fascinated by the medical advances of cardiac surgery, I asked Dr. Gillinov a follow-up question, \u201cHas there been any recent developments or medical advances that have extended the time in which the heart can be stopped safely?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Gillinov\u2019s response was direct and simple:<\/p>\n

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Nothing dramatic or new.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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I hope this helped Steve (and perhaps you) learn more about heart valve surgery. Thanks to Steve for his question about icing and stopping the heart. Also, a special thanks to Dr. Marc Gillinov<\/a> for his ongoing support of our community.<\/p>\n

Related Links:<\/p>\n