Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog – Page 11

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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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.

 
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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?

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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.

 
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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.

 
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[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.

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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

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.)

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Thanks to all the wonderful patients in our community who entered our Heart Valve Day Patient Giveaway! It was amazing to see that over 1,000 patients entered the fun giveaway.

As for the winner… I am excited to share that Sara, a mitral and tricuspid valve repair patient, from California won the giveaway.
 

Sara Wins Heart Valve Day Patient Giveaway

 
When Sara found out that she won the giveaway, she sent me a note saying, “Thank You! Wow! Cool! I had endocardial cushion defect. So, I had mitral valve and tricuspid valve repairs as part of that. I have two nephews who have had to have heart valve surgery over the last 2 years — in their early 50s. I was able to support them a lot with your website and newsletter content.”

 
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I am excited to announce the launch of the “My Aortic Stenosis Journey Toolkit” for aortic stenosis patients.

Aortic stenosis is a common and dangerous type of heart disease in which the aortic valve is narrowed thereby limiting the flow of blood through the heart and body.  Without treatment, 50% of severe aortic stenosis patients will die just 24 months after the onset of symptoms.

 
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[UPDATE: Unfortunately, we are no longer accepting entries for the “Heart Valve Day Giveaway”. All entries for the giveaway needed to be submitted by 11:59pm PST on February 22, 2022. We are sorry if you did not submit your entry in time. Click here to see which patient won the giveaway.]

Woo-hoo! This Tuesday, February 22, is National Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day.

To celebrate… We’re doing a special “HeartValveSurgery.com Patient Giveaway” for the wonderful members of our community. That’s right. You can enter to win all the goodies shown below.  And, it’s free!

 
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Dear Patients and Friends,

I am excited to share that the HeartValveSurgery.com Facebook page just reached a fantastic milestone.  Our Facebook page now has over 350,000 members around the world!

 
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Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women causing 1 in 3 deaths each year?  And, did you know that cardiovascular disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined and yet only 44% of women recognize that cardiovascular disease is their greatest health threat?

So today, on National Wear Red Day, join me as we unite for the “Go Red for Women” initiative to raise awareness for women’s heart health!

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There is nothing better than hearing from patients about their personal journeys to healthy hearts. For example, I just got a wonderful email from Reed about his successful Ross Procedure with Dr. Vaughn Starnes at Keck Medicine of USC. (As you might recall, Dr. Starnes performed my Ross Procedure over 15 years ago.)

Reed After Ross Procedure with Danny

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I just received a fantastic question about the genetics specific to bicuspid aortic valves (BAV).

In her email, Donna asks, “Adam – I had a BAV and aneurysm replacement surgery 9 and 1/2 years ago. My question after watching the Advances in Aortic Valve & Aneurysm Surgery Webinar is, ‘Which family members could also be at risk?’ I have no knowledge of family members that had this issue.  But, what about my children or grandchildren?”

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[January 21, 2022 Update: Great News! The “Advances in Aortic Valve & Aneurysm Surgery” webinar with Penn Medicine was a wonderful and very interactive session with over 700 patient registrations. You can now watch the webinar video playback at this link.]

I’m excited to announce that our LIVE and FREE patient education events continue this Thursday, January 20 at 6pm EST, with a special webinar, “Advances in Aortic Valve & Aneurysm Surgery”, featuring Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center doctors.

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