The day before patients enter the hospital, they usually pack a travel bag.
So you know, the average hospital stay for heart valve surgery patients is four to six days. That said, many patients mistakenly pack a big bag of stuff as if they were vacationing in Hawaii. The reality? You will only need a few, [...]

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Two key questions for patients needing heart valve replacement due to aortic stenosis, mitral valve prolapse and/or regurgitation is, “How long does a valve replacement last?” and “Will I need a reoperation?”
While there are many different answers to that question, here is some very interesting information specific to St. Jude Medical’s Biocor™ Stented Tissue Valve. [...]

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A fundamental, unexpected challenge of my heart surgery recovery was severe cardiac depression. After my aortic valve replacement, cardiac depression hit me like a ton of bricks. I was feeling fine one day and the next… Total emotional disaster.
When I launched this website, one of my key objectives was to educate patients and caregivers about [...]

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There’s no doubt about it. Doctor David Adams from Mount Sinai in New York deserves a lot of credit for his surgical skills. Many, many, many patients I speak with praise Dr. Adams and his team - especially for mitral valve repair surgeries.
That said, I thought you might like to see Dr. Adams at work. [...]

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Rodney Dangerfield, who played the role of Al Czervik in the cult-classic Caddyshack, is still quoted when my family and I need a laugh. During the 1980s, we huddled around our high-tech, Betamax movie system to watch this legendary actor in the incredibly funny, golf comedy co-starring Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Ted Knight.
As you [...]

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If you follow the latest technology and medical advancements of heart valve surgery, I thought you would enjoy this update and video:
Evalve, Inc., a leading provider of minimally invasive mitral valve repair techniques, has completed randomized enrollment in the endovascular valve edge-to-edge repair study, which is evaluating the MitraClip system as a non-surgical repair [...]

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I just received a concerned email from Sean about nerve damage after heart surgery. I provided some thoughts for Sean below, but I’m curious to know if you experienced this heart surgery complication. Here is Sean’s story:
Hi, Adam!
I’m recovering from aortic valve and aortic root replacement surgery. It turned out my problems were congenital - [...]

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Are you like me?
When I was diagnosed with severe heart valve disease, I wanted to learn as much as I could about aortic stenosis (my valve disorder), aortic valve surgery and the recovery from open heart surgery.
Specifically, during my second-opinion with Dr. Chaikin, I learned that my heart valve leaflets had narrowed due to the [...]

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I stress A LOT of things for patients to “watch out for” as they prepare for heart valve surgery. One of the most critical, potential pitfalls in this complex process is poor surgeon selection. As we all know, there is risk in any type of surgery. But, finding the right cardiac surgeon (with extensive experience) [...]

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For all of you following the advancements and latest technology of heart valve replacement, here is some encouraging news specific to minimally invasive surgery using a catheter…
According to Forbes, shares of Edwards Lifesciences, the largest heart valve manufacturer, rose 10% yesterday after the company announced positive results from two recent studies of its newest bovine [...]

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