Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog – Page 11
Patient Quiz: What Just Happened to Andy’s Heart Valves in Dr. Burke’s Operating Room?
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 2, 2022
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.
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?
Medical Technology Update: Robotic Mitral Valve Replacement
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 28, 2022
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.
Yale University and Yale New Haven Health Join Our Community!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 22, 2022
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.
Deena Wins Our Summer Patient Giveaway!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 20, 2022
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!!!
“Advances in Heart Valve Reoperations” Webinar Now Available!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 14, 2022
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!
Join 500 Patients Live on the “Advances In Heart Valve Reoperations” Webinar Today!!!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: June 27, 2022
[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.
Free “Summer Giveaway” for Heart Valve Patients!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: June 17, 2022
[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.
Charlie Inspires 7,000 Likes At Our Facebook Page!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: June 16, 2022
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.
How It Works: Tissue Heart Valve Replacement Assembly
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: June 16, 2022
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.
Patient Advocacy Update: Our Community Submits 250+ Comments to Medicare in 24 Hours
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: June 6, 2022
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.
Epic Plus Tissue Valve Gets FDA Approval for Lifetime Management of Heart Valve Disease
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: May 31, 2022
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.
Denis Morton, Peloton Instructor, Delivers Empowering Salute to Heart Valve Patients
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: May 28, 2022
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.
URGENT: Will You Please Help Heart Valve & AFib Patients?
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: June 6, 2022
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!!!
100 Patient Testimonials for Dr. Gyu Gang and Dr. Takeyoshi Ota!!!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: May 11, 2022
I am very happy and excited to announce that Dr. Gyu Gang and Dr. Takeyoshi Ota are the newest members of our surgeon team to receive 100 patient testimonials at HeartValveSurgery.com!!!
This is a huge accomplishment for these heart valve experts who have successfully treated so many patients in our community. So you know, Dr. Gang and Dr. Ota are the fourth and fifth members of our team to receive 100 patient testimonials.
Adam’s Angels: Downright Amazing!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: May 5, 2022
Our Patient Community never ceases to amaze me!
This time… Richard Munson, a mitral valve patient from Massachusetts, took it upon himself to celebrate many patients in our Community who actively welcome, support and encourage other patients needing heart valve surgery.
Richard officially named the support group, “Adam’s Angels”, and created a poster to showcase the community-members in this group. How wonderful is that?
Calcium Supplements Could Spell Trouble for Older Heart Valve Patients
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: April 27, 2022
For many patients, heart valve calcification is public enemy number one. A calcified heart valve can lead to severe stenosis, debilitating symptoms, major health risks and death.
That said, I often receive the following question from patients, “Hi Adam – If calcium build-up on my valve is bad, should I stop taking calcium supplements?” Although I had previously heard that calcium supplements do not pose a potential threat to heart valve patients, new research from the Cleveland Clinic may be challenging that notion.
With 4,000 Facebook Likes, Timothy’s Post-Op Picture Goes Viral!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: April 12, 2022
Our global community of patients, care partners, doctors, physician assistants, nurses, hospitals and medical companies is downright amazing!
For example, I recently posted a post-op picture of Timothy Andre shortly after his successful Ross Procedure by Dr. Paul Stelzer at Mount Sinai on the HeartValveSurgery.com Facebook page.
Within seconds… People all over the world began smashing the “Like” button on Timothy’s photo. So far, there have been more than 4,000 “Likes” for Timothy’s post. The encouragement for Timothy then spilled into the comments section of his post where over 400 people shared supportive comments, good wishes and prayers for Timothy’s recovery.
Join Over 500 Patients on Today’s Webinar!!!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Medical Expert: Marc Gerdisch, MD, Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Franciscan Health
Published: April 11, 2022
[April 15, 2022 Update: Great News! The “Advancing Aortic Valve Surgery Using 3D Imaging & Artificial Intelligence” webinar with Dr. Gerdisch from Franciscan Health was a wonderful and very interactive session with over 500 patient registrations. You can now watch the webinar video playback at this link.]
Dear Patients & Friends,
I’m excited to announce that our LIVE and FREE patient education events continue this Thursday, April 14 at 6pm EST, with a special webinar, “Advancing Aortic Valve Surgery Using 3D Imaging & Artificial Intelligence”. The featured speaker is Dr. Marc Gerdisch, the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Franciscan Health, who has performed over 4,000 heart valve operations and successfully treated more than 120 patients from our community.
Our YouTube Channel Subscribers Jump 214%
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: April 7, 2022
Hey Everybody,
Wow!
I just noticed that our subscribers at YouTube jumped 214% in the last seven months.
That right. The HeartValveSurgery.com YouTube Channel has grown from 14,000 subscribers to over 44,000 subscribers in a very, very, very short timeframe considering we launched the channel all the way back in 2010.
It is really amazing to see how our videos – which are filmed with patients in our Community and world-renowned surgeons and cardiologists – are helping so many people get educated and empowered specific to the management and treatment of heart valve disease. Thanks so much for your support!!!
Click here to subscribe to the HeartValveSurgery.com YouTube Channel. It’s free!
Keep on tickin!
Adam
New Interactive Features Launch at Our Community!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: March 4, 2022
Our online Community is one of the fastest growing sections of HeartValveSurgery.com. It’s a great place where patients, family members and friends can share their experiences, connect and learn from each other.
Thanks to your wonderful feedback, I am happy to share that we just launched several new interactive updates to the Community. Here’s a video to help you learn about the new interactive features. (See the “refreshed” Patient News Feed here.)
