For those in the Oakland area, I wanted to invite you to a special, educational seminar hosted by Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California this Thursday, February 17, at 6:30pm.

Since writing my book and launching this website, I have been very fortunate to meet some amazing people. One such person is Dr. Marc Gillinov of the Cleveland Clinic. Not only is Dr. Gillinov an incredible surgeon but he is a patient advocate and a proactive supporter of our community.

For those unfamiliar with the name "Dr. Vincent Gaudiani", I'm hopeful this video provides a unique opportunity for you to gain awareness and access to this special cardiac surgeon from Northern California. During his 25+ year career, Dr. Gaudiani has performed over 10,000 heart-related surgeries. Most importantly, Dr. Gaudiani has a way with patients that compels them to email me glowing surgical reviews, praise and success stories (e.g. George Avakian).

Exciting news everybody!!!

Great news everybody!

Recently, I spent two days at Inova's Heart & Vascular Institute in Falls Church, Virginia -- which is about 10 miles from downtown Washington, D.C. in Northern Virginia. It was my first visit to the new $150 million facility that (i) holds a #1 ranking from HealthGrades for Virginia hospitals and (ii) a 5-Star excellence rating for heart valve replacement surgeries.

[Update: Please note that Dr. Allan Stewart is no longer performing surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center.]

As many of you know, I'm fascinated with technology.

When two, leading heart valve surgeons come together at an established cardiac care program, the expectations for success are high.

Recently, I was extremely lucky to observe Dr. Saibal Kar and his team perform its 103rd MitraClip procedure on a patient with severe mitral regurgitation at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California.

This past Wednesday, Dr. Eric Roselli, a leading heart surgeon from The Cleveland Clinic, hosted an exclusive internet chat with our patient and caregiver community. Thanks to your questions and your participation, this was a very active and educational chat that is now available in a written transcript.

My inbox is overflowing with great questions about Dr. Eric Roselli's chat scheduled for today, Wednesday, July 7 at 2pm (EST). That said, I will use this blog to answer the six, most common questions about this special event:

If you are preparing for or recovering from aortic valve surgery, here is a great way to get your questions answered from a surgical expert. This Wednesday, July 7 at 2pm (EST), Dr. Eric Roselli, one of The Cleveland Clinic's leading heart surgeons, will answer your questions during a special online chat.

Great news!

Several weeks ago, I shared the touching story of William Luna's high risk valve repair. Shortly thereafter, I received several emails about minimally-invasive procedures and Dr. Jai Raman -- the surgeon who performed William's procedure.

I'm hoping this announcement will help those of you diagnosed with heart valve disorders including aortic valve stenosis and aortic valve regurgitation.

Over the past few months, Dr. A. Marc Gillinov, a leading heart surgeon from The Cleveland Clinic, has been incredibly supportive of our patients and caregivers. Not only did Dr. Gillinov host an exclusive Internet chat with our community, but he quickly responds to many of your questions that I forward to him.

Earlier this month, Dr. A. Marc Gillinov - one of the leading heart valve surgeons from The Cleveland Clinic - held an exclusive, online chat with our patient and caregiver community. Thanks to your interactive participation, this event was an overwhelming success!!!

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.

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