About Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
For his work as a patient advocate and a high technology consultant, Adam Pick has been featured by the American Heart Association, Heart.org, BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal and Medical News Today. A native and current resident of Los Angeles, California, Adam earned a bachelors and a graduate degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
This website, which Adam created in 2006 to educate and empower patients, has helped more than 10 million people. Today, over 500,000 people follow Adam across social media for his patient-centric coverage of heart valve disease. In 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 HeartValveSurgery.com achieved the #1 ranking on Feedspot's "Top 50 Cardiac Websites".
Making A Difference Through Patient Advocacy
As Dr. Marc Gillinov, the Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, recently stated, "The story of HeartValveSurgery.com is extraordinary. Adam's website fills an important gap for patients."
Reflecting upon the growth of HeartValveSurgery.com, Adam shared, "Having heart surgery was one of the greatest blessings in my life. I feel so lucky to have created an educational resource and community that helps patients at each stage of the surgical process -- from diagnosis through recovery."
Helping Patients From Diagnosis To Recovery
On November 3, 2005, Adam learned that he had severe heart valve disease and an enlarged heart. To treat his valvular defect, Adam needed double heart valve replacement surgery. Eight weeks later, Dr. Vaughn Starnes performed aortic and pulmonary valve surgery on Adam at USC Medical Center.
As part of his experience, Adam learned the highs, the lows, the challenges, the opportunities and the frustrations of heart valve surgery. His book, The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery and his website, HeartValveSurgery.com, represents Adam's personal attempt to support patients and caregivers through the entire heart valve surgery process - from diagnosis to recovery.
In addition to his book, Adam created several educational resources and an interactive patient community to help fellow patients through the heart valve surgery process including:
- Patient Community - Meet people just like you in our patient community. There's nothing better than connecting and learning from patients who are sharing their stories in our community.
- Heart Valve Learning Center - Visit the Heart Valve Learning Center to access over 1,000 pages of educational information about valvular disorders.
- Surgeon Finder - Find and research patient-recommended heart surgeons that specialize in heart valve repair and heart valve replacement procedures.
- Heart Hospitals Directory - Learn about medical centers that have dedicated teams and resources that specialize in heart valve therapy.
- Adam's Heart Valve Blog - Get the latest medical news and patient updates from our award-winning blog.
- Educational Videos - Watch over 100 educational videos filmed by the HeartValveSurgery.com film crew about heart valve surgery.
- Adam's Free Patient eBooks - Download 10 free eBooks about heart valve disease and treatment options for aortic, mitral, pulmonary and tricuspid valves.
Adam's Patient Advocacy Transforms Into Philanthropy
To help patients in need, Adam has transformed this project into a charitable effort. To support children born with congenital heart defects, Adam partnered with Gift of Life International, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing medical treatment to kids suffering from cardiac disorders.
On October 21, 2024, HeartValveSurgery.com announced the life-saving heart surgery of Nsimire, a 8-year-old girl from Uganda.
On July 6, 2024, HeartValveSurgery.com sponsored the life-saving heart surgery of Patrick, a 13-year-old boy from Uganda who has mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation.
On September 9, 2023, Adam announced that HeartValveSurgery.com sponsored the heart valve surgery of Mohammed, a 14-year-old boy from Uganda who has severe mitral valve regurgitation caused by rheumatic fever.
On December 8, 2022, Adam shared that HeartValveSurgery.com sponsored the heart surgery of Johann, a 7-year-old boy from the Philippines who was born with a hole in his heart (ventricular septal defect).
On November 24, 2021, Adam announced that HeartValveSurgery.com sponsored the cardiac surgery of Baby Alfred, a 7-month old boy from Nigeria who suffers from Tetralogy of Fallot, a complex form of heart valve disease.
On January 8, 2021, Adam announced that HeartValveSurgery.com sponsored the cardiac surgery of Traver, a 22-month old boy from Uganda who had complex heart disease.
To contact Adam, please email adam@heartvalvesurgery.com, contact us, or call (888) 725-4311. You can also subscribe to Adam's free heart valve newsletter here.
Page last updated: October 21, 2024
