Here’s a great patient success story about the medical miracle of valve surgery…
When Jeffrey Kistler began gasping for air at night, the suspected cause was sleep apnea. But when the problem persisted, worsening when lying down and getting better when he sat up, he went to the emergency room, which prompted abundant follow-up tests involving [...]

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Every once-and-a-while, I receive patient email that is both curious and comical. This email, from Greg (in Oregon), qualifies as one of those special emails…
Hi Adam - My name is Greg and I bought your book a couple months ago and have been reading your blogs ever since! I have never written to you with [...]

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I just read a fascinating surgical report about the minimally invasive CoreValve transplant with two awake patients needing aortic valve replacement in New Zealand.
Two women, aged 79 and 91, were the first people in New Zealand to undergo a new type of heart operation which uses local, not general, anaesthetic, at Waikato Hospital.
The transcatheter aortic [...]

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Kelly’s mother was recently diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis and is preparing for aortic valve replacement surgery. She writes to me, “Adam: I’m doing my best to help my mom understand what is involved in aortic valve surgery. The problem is… I don’t know what happens during the operation. Can you please describe the aortic [...]

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I’ve learned that laughter is one of the best forms of medicine relative to heart surgery. With that noted, I offer you a truly tasteless but quite funny heart surgery cartoon:

He… He… He…
Keep on tickin!!!

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Vicki (pictured below) recently sent me a question regarding her upcoming mitral valve surgery. While I have some ideas for Vicki, we thought it might be helpful for Vicki to gather feedback from other patients - especially females. That said… Do you have any thoughts for Vicki? Here is what she writes:
Hi Adam,
I’m scheduled for [...]

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I just read this tragic story from The Telegraph in the United Kingdom:
Sasha Bartin, described as a girl who never stopped smiling, was taken ill during a hockey lesson at Westfield Community School, Yeovil, Somerset, on Monday morning.
The thirteen-year old, who was waiting for an operation to mend a faulty valve in her heart, complained [...]

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The use of robots for minimally invasive heart valve surgery continues to rise.
If you read the patient success stories of our own Larry Larsson and Leslie Lafayette, you will quickly understand the benefits of the da Vinci Surgical Surgical Robot for heart valve disorders including prolapsed mitral valves.

The da Vinci Surgical Robot
“You can really minimize [...]

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For me, there is nothing better than patient inspiration.
That said, I am a lucky person. Ever since I had my aortic valve replacement and started this website, my inbox has been overflowing with inspirational thoughts from all different types of people from all over the world.
Recently, I learned of Esther Robinson’s inspirational story. At [...]

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More news from the leading heart valve manufacturer this week…
According to Reuters, Edwards Lifesciences Corp said won U.S. regulatory approval for a device to replace diseased mitral valves, one of the most common forms of heart valve abnormalities (including mitral valve prolapse).

Edwards’ Perimount Magna mitral valve replacement will be launched in the United States immediately, [...]

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