Adam's Guestbook

Adam Pick  YES! YES! AND MORE YES! Thanks to everybody in our community for helping this website get named the #1 Cardiac Website for the 4th consecutive year. Truly amazing!!!


I emailed everybody yesterday. But, if you missed that announcement, here is a link to check it out -  https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/heart-surgery-blog/2024/09/16/top-heart-disease-ranking/.


Thanks so much everybody!  Together, we are making a difference in the lives of many, many, many people all around the world!

Rose Madura  Great to hear Adam!  There's nothing like connecting with people who have been through the same things in life, like OHS. And you have made it possible for all of us.  Congratulations 🎉🎉👏👏👍👍

Ana Brusso  As I said before my dear hvs brother, greatly deserved honor. This website saved my life twice. Congratulations Adam and thank you! 🙏❤️😍🎉🎊👍🥰🤗

Richard Munson  You could look up the phrase pump head. There may not be a lot of literature on it because its a gray area. I am a believer but many doctors are not. Until they invent a way to perform heart surgery without turning off the circuit breaker, it may never go away. My analogy has been when you lose power to your house and it goes back on, there is a huge jolt to the system. In my eyes, same thing. 

Yumiko Ishida  Being on the heart lung machine is worse, obviously, but even anesthesia takes a toll. I am knocked out even on a two minute sedation, and it takes a while to recover.  There is definitely not enough information provided by the cardiologists. I think we could all benefit from some neuro rehab after a major surgery. I got PT, OT, and speech therapy after my stroke, and they were superior to all the other PT and cardiac rehab programs I did for one reason or another. One of my neuro therapists emphasized the importance of hydration, nutrition, exercise, sleep, pain management, and emotional health. A presentation by a neurologist will probably be very beneficial for all of us.

Yumiko Ishida  Richard, it’s interesting that you mention your eyes. I requested a second round of speech therapy after my OHS. Made great strides, but was hitting a plateau, and the therapist told me to get my eyes checked out. My vision is fine, with moderate corrections, but it turns out I have convergence insufficiency. So I am straining to focus on nearby objects, like books. I had no idea. Apparently your eyes use 30% of your brain, because they are so important for survival. When your brain resources are limited (lack of sleep, etc) and your eyes are straining, there is not much to go around for other things. Hope your eyes are recovering well!

Richard Munson  There are articles on the eye brain connection and of course the brain controls most if not all of our bodily functions. When your eyes are not functioning properly, it can affect a lot besides just reading a book for instance. Most noticeably in my case was balance. My hope is that my latest laser surgery will improve that particular issue. Its been a few days and i already feel the difference.

Betsy Davenport  Richard, the pumphead phenomenon can't apply to me because they didn't stop my heart and hook me up to a heart-lung machine. That mess is one of the reasons I wanted to avoid OHS if at all possible. If it's just from the sedation, well, it seems extreme to me. But I'll go read about that. (I'm still just astonished by the extent of their disinterest.)

Adam Pick  Hi Betsy, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We are working on several new features that will be added to the website in the next few months.

Unfortunately, I am not aware of any research/information connecting TAVR to cognitive decline following a procedure. That said, I will take your question and put it into our educational queue. The next time I see a TAVR expert, I will ask him/her your question to learn more. Sound good?

So sorry you are going through this!!!

Yumiko Ishida  An educational program would be great, Adam! I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t already have neuro rehab on my schedule post surgery.

Betsy, you may not technically have a pumphead, but your body did go through a significant trauma and your heart is still healing. Of the items my speech therapist listed as important factors, “pain” can be interpreted broadly as anything that needs healing. The areas around your new valve is a kind of wound, plus your body is trying to get used to the foreign object inserted into your heart. All of it takes time to heal. You will get better! Hope you experience improvement soon!

Betsy Davenport  Adam, I wouldn't call it "decline." It's more like a reaction and not permanent. 

I've been reading about the heart-brain connection, which is an actual thing, and hope to learn more about why and in what ways  the brain is affected by changes in the heart brought on by valve replacement. 

Daneen Douglas  I’ve been dealing with intermittent bouts of vertigo since my surgery related to migraines as was finally diagnosed.  What symptoms are you experiencing specifically?

Adam Pick  Hi Ruth, Great to hear from you. Interesting... I just tried using the emojis and they appear to be working... Here's an example... . Fyi, I'm on a desktop. Can you tell me a little more about the problem you are having. I'll do my best to fix it right away. Thanks!

Adam Pick  Woo-Hoo!!! Happy Dance!!! Also... We are currently implementing a new capability that will enable our community member to upload jpgs, pngs and... webps... which are a new form of image type on the Internet.

Adam Pick  Hi Richard, Thanks for letting me know. Can you please send the photo you are trying to upload to adam@heartvalvesurgery.com? I want our programming team to better understand what the problem is.  Thanks so much!!! 

Richard Munson  I will, it was a cute little picture to my dear friend and cat lady, sue maize. Never had any issues before. Figured i was blackballed. Lol. Stay tuned.

Adam Pick  Hi Richard, Ha! I can assure you, there is no blackball going on. There was a server update that had a few glitches in it. The good news is that most of the issues have been resolved. However, we're still seeing some issues especially with webp files types.

Adam Pick  Thanks Ruth!!! I agree. This is wonderful news!  I'm looking forward to November when Patrick gets his heart fixed!!! 

Adam Pick  Hi Carol, Thanks so much for the kind words about the website.  July 11 will be a great day for you and your heart.  My thoughts and prayers are with you.  For those patients in our community, who would like to learn about the Ross Procedure, an advanced form of aortic valve replacement that I had nearly 19 years ago, please click  this link - https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/learning/ross-procedure/.

Adam Pick  Also, here is a video with some great information about Ross Procedure long-term outcomes and survival benefits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzWwl2iobnw

Valerie Allen  Sue, in the meantime if you scroll down far enough, you’ll see them on this feed. I saw the Messages to your Guestbook earlier today. 

Adam Pick  Hi Brenda, Here's some new information about Afib and Left atrial appendage closure - https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/learning/atrial-fibrillation-guidelines-stroke-risk/

Adam Pick  Also, in our Learning Center, there is a whole section about AFib for heart valve patients.  Here it is - https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/atrial-fibrillation/. Hope that helps!

Adam Pick  Thanks for the very kind words about the webinar Daneen! I'm so happy Dr. Gerdisch was able to address your question. For anybody who wants to watch the webinar, I just posted a video replay at this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOw8kp6L3aI

Sue Maize  Just watched it—great question Daneen! I hope the vision/vertigo issue gets the attention it needs—I didn’t catch if he said whether having a pre-condition of either would likely result in having it exacerbated from surgery? I know you wear contacts, but did you have any of the vision issues you’re concerned about and/or vertigo prior to your surgery? 

Daneen Douglas  Sue, I have actually had vertigo in the past but these current episodes seemed to be so different, coming on strong with intense symptoms, and leaving quickly. I did see the eye doctor yesterday and did get a complete eye exam with retinal scans as well. All was normal with my retinas and eyes were healthy.

She said surgery can worsen your vision permanently due to the pressures and upset the fluid balance/crystals in the inner ear which take awhile to settle. She said any flashing lights were/are due to my vitreous detachment ( the lining of the inside of your eye) which causes similar symptoms to retinal detachment, lol. Since that happened about 10 years ago I've had a lot of floaters and occasional flashing lights. The flashing lights and auras have decreased as well since the surgery.

I did receive a new prescription. To be fair my old one was 2 years old. I have new contacts and I can see much better. I also ordered new glasses.

I am down to 1 meclizine per day instead of 3 and so we shall see. . I haven't had a full episode in 10 days!

How are you feeling about your surgery upcoming. Did you get rehab care officially lined up yet? I had to wait from October until April and it seems like it will never get here until all of a sudden it's here! It's so much better having it behind you. I didn't think I'd be recovered to the extent I am at 4 weeks. So, that's a great surprise. Looking forward to hearing about your recovery too!

Thanks so much for asking, Sue!

Daneen

Adam Pick  Thanks Ruth! I will definitely pass along your congratulations to Ethan. After winning the State Robotics Championship, Ethan and his team are now getting ready for the World Championship in Dallas, Texas next month. Needless to say, this is very exciting! And yes, Robyn (my wife) and I are very proud parents!!!!

Valerie Allen  Wow, that must be extremely competitive! Best wishes to Ethan and his team, as well as Robyn and you. Very exciting!

Ana Brusso  Texas next. YEAH! Very Smart children and very proud parents. Adam, he has grown so much, right in front of our eyes. He is almost as tall as you 😆. We are also proud of them. 👍

Patricia Miller  Congratulations to your son and his team.  Tremendous honor and well deserved.  I can imagine how hard they have worked to earn a spot at the World Championship.  Best of luck to them and thank you for sharing this with us.

Susan Lynn  Congratulations, Ethan! Great accomplishment! Best of luck to you and your team at the World Championship! 🌎🏆

Adam Pick  Great Barbara! Thanks so much for the very kind words! If you need anything, please let me know.

Adam Pick  Thanks so much Deena! Fyi, I was very lucky to attend the game in Houston with Ethan. Needless to say, it was quite the experience! Go Blue!

Deena Z  Wow, so awesome!!!! Love it. 
That’s a fantastic photo.
Great screensaver and for framing. 

PS-  I come from a “blue family”, father etc.
(though not me:)