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 [...]

read more from this topic.....

Emotions can be undeniably strong and turbulent as patients and their support groups experience heart valve surgery.
On one hand, I experienced a profound sense of appreciation and thankfulness during my recovery. Like many of you, I found myself swirling in waves of emotions that often triggered tears. In fact, the running joke with Robyn (my [...]

read more from this topic.....

Here’s a great recovery tip from Keith about using both hands after open heart surgery. Keith writes…
Hi Adam,
We have traded emails several times before. I have mainly asked you for contacts of other patients (like myself) who needed heart valve replacement following radiotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
I had my aortic valve replaced exactly one week ago [...]

read more from this topic.....

I really, really, really encourage patients to attend a cardiac rehabilitation program after heart valve surgery.
As I personally learned during my early recovery, cardiac rehab can greatly enhance the physical and mental well-being of patients while minimizing post-operative issues like cardiac depression.
New medical studies and patient stories (e.g. Charles Harrall) continue to illustrate [...]

read more from this topic.....

I just received a great question from Jenny about sleep after heart valve surgery.
Jenny writes, “Adam, I had mitral valve replacement seven days ago for regurgitation. I’m struggling a bit as I deal with the some of the post-operative challenges you address in your book. I’m really having an issue getting a good night of [...]

read more from this topic.....