Adam's Heart Valve Surgery Blog – Page 13
Heart Warrior Spotlight: John Bikes Coast-to-Coast After Mitral Valve Repair!!!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: November 29, 2021
A mighty “CONGRATULATIONS!!!” is going out to John Deysher, a heart valve patient from our Community.
John, who had a successful mitral valve repair surgery five years ago, just completed a coast-to-coast bike ride with Tom, his brother. That’s right. John and Tom rode 2,600 miles across the Southern tier of the United States. Unbelievable!!!
UW Medicine Heart Institute Joins Our Community!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: October 20, 2021
I am very excited to announce that UW Medicine Heart Institute just became the newest sponsor of HeartValveSurgery.com.
Heart Warrior Spotlight: Sonny Gets Outpatient Valve Replacement Reoperation!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: October 14, 2021
It’s one thing to be told you need heart valve surgery.
It’s another thing to be told you need a second heart surgery because your tissue valve replacement is failing ahead of schedule.
That is the exact situation that Sonny Abassi, an attorney from Vienna, Virginia, recently experienced. According to his cardiologist… Sonny’s aortic valve replacement, which was surgically implanted six years ago, was unfortunately calcified. To mitigate the dangerous risks of aortic stenosis, Sonny needed a reoperation.
Married Couple Share Unexpected Heart Surgery Bond!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: September 20, 2021
The stories in our Patient Community just get better-and-better!
This time…
Rosemary and Tom Rice, a wonderful couple that has been married for 53 years, just shared their special heart surgery bond with me.
8-Year Old, Grant, Gets Successful Ross Procedure Thanks to Dr. Starnes!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 30, 2021
Since starting HeartValveSurgery.com in 2006, I’ve been fortunate to speak with thousands of patients about heart valve disease.
As you might imagine, I have also had the privilege of speaking with thousands of care partners including wives, husbands, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandsons and granddaughters.
Mayo Clinic Joins Our Community!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 26, 2021
Doctor Q&A: 3rd COVID-19 Vaccine Dose? New Booster Shot?
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 22, 2021
Dear Patients and Friends,
I’m getting excellent questions about the newly announced “3rd dose” and “booster shot” of the COVID-19 vaccine. So… With the help of Dr. Craig Smith, the Surgeon-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, I just posted a new “Doctor Q&A” to help educate our community.
Click here to see “COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Should Heart Valve Patients Get a 3rd Dose or Booster Shot?”
Keep on tickin!
Adam
Thanks to Tom & Dr. Caffarelli, I Get a New Heart!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 9, 2021
There’s no doubt about it. What I love most about HeartValveSurgery.com is the special opportunity to meet and help patients from all over the world.
For example… I was very fortunate to recently connect with Tom Everson from Anaheim, California. Tom was diagnosed with aortic stenosis and an aortic aneurysm. During our exchange, Tom asked several great questions about surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), aortic root replacement, cardiac surgeons and hospitals.
6 World-Renowned Heart Valve Surgeons Show Support for Our Patient Community!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 23, 2021
On behalf of our patient community… Many thanks to Drs. Badhwar, Chikwe, El-Hamamsy, Khan, Shemin and Stelzer for showing their wonderful support of HeartValveSurgery.com. As you can see below, each of these heart valve experts is wearing our new scrub caps around their hospitals.
Here’s Dr. Vinay Badhwar, the Executive Chair of WVU Medicine Heart & Vascular Institute in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Heart Trivia: Which Heart Valve Is Hidden In This 3D Animation of a Beating Human Heart?
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: July 13, 2021
Together, we have seen a lot of great heart valve animations and videos over the years. I have to admit… The 3D animation of the heart beating below could be one of the best. The animation really provides a complete context of the heart beating, the heart valves opening and the heart valves closing.
The only thing missing in this animation is one of the heart valves. Can you identify the heart valve that is hidden?
Traver’s Fixed Heart Returns Home to Uganda!!!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: June 29, 2021
It is with a BIG smile on my face that I am posting these words.
Thanks to your support of HeartValveSurgery.com, I am happy to share that Traver just arrived home in Uganda after his complex cardiac surgery in Israel!!! Woo-Whoo!!! Yay!!!! Mission accomplished!!!!
I just received the following pictures. Here is Traver at home with his family in their Ugandan village.
Patient Webinar: Surgical vs. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: June 28, 2021
I’m excited to announce that our LIVE and FREE patient education events continue this Thursday, July 1, with a special webinar, “Surgical vs. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: What Should Patients Know?” Featured speakers include Dr. Charles Davidson, Professor of Cardiology, and Dr. Chris Malaisrie, Professor of Cardiac Surgery, at Northwestern Medicine. This one-hour webinar will start at 5pm CST.
TAVR Innovation: Navitor Gets CE Mark Approval in Europe
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: June 11, 2021
The use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) devices for the treatment of aortic stenosis has soared in recent years.
Prior to COVID-19… TAVR devices were growing at double-digit compounded annual growth rates as sales grew to over $2 billion worldwide in 2019, according to Medical Device Network. At HeartValveSurgery.com, patient interest in educational content – exclusively about TAVR – jumped 627% across our servers from 2019 to 2020.
Alex Toussaint, Peloton Instructor, Sends Empowering “Shout-Out” to Heart Valve Patients
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: June 12, 2021
I’m a bit addicted to our Peloton.
This next-gen athletic gear has completely transformed my approach to fitness. I feel great. I have more energy. Thankfully, as someone who has struggled with insomnia, I now sleep like a baby. And, I’ve unexpectedly lost 12 pounds.
One of the fun parts of riding a Peloton is when an instructor sends a live “shout-out” to a community member during class. So far, I’ve been fortunate to score shout-outs from Robin Arzon and Jess King.
I’m happy to share that on my recent 800th ride, I got a shout-out from the one-and-only Alex Toussaint. As you may already know, Alex is an extremely motivational coach who inspires students with uplifting catch phrases (Feel Good! Look Good! Do Better!), innovative classes (e.g., the Last Dance and Ride to Greatness) and honest perspectives on the challenges we all face on a day-to-day basis.
Little Traver Finally Gets Life-Saving Heart Surgery!!!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: June 9, 2021
Yes!!! I have an update about Traver!!!
As you might recall… In January, the HeartValveSurgery.com community sponsored the much-needed surgery of Traver, a courageous 2-year old boy from a small village in Uganda, who was suffering from a life-threatening form of heart disease.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Traver’s surgery was delayed by several months. Watch the video below to see Traver’s latest update!
SUMMIT Clinical Trial Now Enrolling Mitral Valve Patients!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: November 29, 2022; This post is sponsored by Abbott.
Why is the SUMMIT Clinical Trial such a big deal for millions of mitral valve patients who have limited treatment options?
Watch this educational video to learn about the new SUMMIT Clinical Trial that will evaluate the Tendyne™ Mitral Valve System that replaces the patient’s defective mitral valve without an incision to the patient’s sternum. The Tendyne™ therapy is a minimally-invasive alternative to open-heart surgery that does not require the patient to be on the heart-lung machine.
We Achieve #1 Ranking on Feedspot’s Top 60 Heart Websites!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: May 24, 2021
Dear Patients & Friends,
This is unexpected!!!
I am happy and honored to announce that HeartValveSurgery.com just achieved the #1 ranking on Feedspot’s Top 60 Heart Websites!!!
Patient Webinar: “The 5 Myths of Heart Valve Surgery” with Dr. Gerdisch & Me
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page last updated: May 22, 2021
[Update: With over 600 patient registrations, the “5 Myths of Heart Valve Surgery” webinar was fantastic. You can now watch the “5 Myths of Heart Valve Surgery” webinar video or download the free eBook at this link.]
I’m excited to announce that our LIVE and FREE patient education events continue today, Thursday, May 20, with a special webinar, “5 Myths of Heart Valve Surgery”. The featured speaker for this event is Dr. Marc Gerdisch, Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Franciscan Health, who has performed over 4,000 heart valve operations. The one-hour webinar will start at 6pm EST.
Medtronic Invites Patient Advocate to Speak at ACC Symposium
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: May 8, 2021
On behalf of our global heart valve community, I want to thank Medtronic, one of the world’s largest medical companies and a leading heart valve manufacturer, for the special invitation to speak at the upcoming American College of Cardiology’s 70th Annual Scientific Session & Expo!!!
The “I’m Back” Recovery Shirt Empowers Heart Surgery Patients! Thanks Josh!
Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: May 6, 2021
Many, many, many thanks to Josh Nowack for sending me this wonderful “I’m Back” recovery t-shirt!
