I just received an interesting question from Bill about heart valve surgery and cardiac rehabilitation programs.
Bill writes, “Hi Adam – I had my aortic valve replaced and the aortic root repaired. After leaving the hospital, I slept in a recliner for three weeks, had frequent dizzy spells, back spasms and felt like I was in a [...]

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Life is fantastic mixture of good days, tough days, great days and, sometimes, bad days. However, every once in a while, we are fortunate to experience… extraordinary days.
Recently, in Greeneville, North Carolina, I had one of those rare, extraordinary days.
“What the heck happened to Adam?” you might be wondering.
Well… I was very fortunate (and very [...]

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It is often said that heart surgery can be a physical and emotional rollercoaster for patients. There are ups… And, there are downs.
If anyone can testify to that realistic thought, it is Duane Hunt. As you might recall, I recently featured Duane’s story at our new online community, Heart Valve Journals, following his mitral valve repair.

Well, since that post… Duane [...]

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Last Wednesday, our patient and caregiver community was fortunate to participate in an exclusive, online chat with Dr. Marc Gillinov, one of the leading heart valve surgeons from The Cleveland Clinic.

As this was our first, interactive chat with The Cleveland Clinic, I was curious (and a bit nervous) to receive feedback from their team following [...]

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I just received a great email from Dale about sternum and shoulder clicking after open heart surgery.
Dale writes, “Hi Adam – I had my surgery on November 2, 2009. The surgeon replaced my bicuspid aortic valve (with a bovine tissue valve), the root aorta, and grafted a large piece of my ascending aorta. I have [...]

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