A few months ago, I received a very difficult phone call from George Avakian who resides in Northern California.
George’s mother was suffering from severe heart valve disease. He was fearful that he might lose his mother. After speaking with George, he immediately took the steps needed to get the best care for his mother. If [...]

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I just received an extraordinary email about Kirk Rose from his daughter, Angela. If anybody needs inspiration before or after heart valve surgery, I encourage you to read this:

Kirk Rose – Triple Heart Valve Surgery Patient
Adam-
I just came across your website and noted that you mention Team Scar Trek of Oregon. So you know, my [...]

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One of the ongoing themes in this blog focuses on patient advocacy — before, during and after surgery. Specific to this point, I just received an interesting letter from Anne about second opinions, patient research, chest incisions and surgeon selection. In her note, Anne writes to me:

Anne Shannon – Heart Valve Surgery Patient (Evergreen, Colorado)

Dear [...]

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Kerrigan just sent me a very interesting update about his heart valve surgery recovery. As his email touched on many patient issues — fatigue, blood pressure, beta blockers and patient advocacy — I thought you might enjoy his perspective and positive results.

Kerrigan Gray – Heart Valve Replacement Patient
Hi Adam:
Remember how I was saying even 1-1/2 [...]

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Great news! We have another patient success story!
After aortic valve replacement surgery due to aortic stenosis last May, Barbara Walters returned to The View yesterday. In case you missed it, the show opened with a fun parody about Barbara’s recovery and a meaningful discussion about heart disease.

During the show, Barbara and her co-hosts discussed many [...]

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