Of the 250,000 heart valve operations performed each year, it is estimated that 25%-35% of those procedures treat patients needing aortic valve replacement surgery due to diseases including aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation.
Given the recent, aortic valve replacement surgeries of Barbara Bush, the former First Lady of the United States, and Robin Williams, the comedian and Oscar-award winning actor, the public has gained new insights into valvular disorders which trigger symptoms including shortness of breath.
However, most people fail to realize that treatment options for aortic stenosis are not limited to invasive approaches which split the patients b****tbone, a technique known as median sternotomy.
This is an exciting time for the heart valve community, notes Adam Pick, a double heart valve replacement patient and author of The Patients Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. Minimally invasive techniques are being developed, tested and perfected by cardiothoracic surgeons, interventional cardiologists and medical technology companies dedicated to this space.
According to Pick, many of his readers suffering from aortic stenosis have experienced the benefits of minimally invasive surgeries which include accelerated recovery, reduced physical trauma and shortened hospital stays.
The most common, minimally invasive procedures referenced by Picks readers include mini-sternotomy and mini-thoracotomy. However, Pick suggests that catheter-based approaches for aortic valve replacement have generated the most interest for patients suffering from aortic valve stenosis.
To educate patients and caregivers about the advances in surgical treatment for heart valve disease, Pick created Adams Heart Valve Surgery Blog. The blog, which is located at http://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/heart-surgery-blog/, will have over 1.5 million visitors in 2009.
It is believed that the number of patients diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis will surge as 76 million Americans, in the Baby Boom generation, reach sixty years of age through 2024.
Adam Pick is a Ross Procedure patient and author of The Patients Guide to Heart Valve Surgery. Adam founded www.Heart-Valve-Surgery.com to help patients and their caregivers better understand the challenges and opportunities of heart valve surgery from the patient perspective. This unique website provides over 2,000 pages of complimentary information (videos, patient stories, recovery tips, clinical research) to support patients before, during and after heart valve surgery.
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