With this interactive platform, our goal is to educate patients and their physicians about the advantages of concomitant AFib and valvular therapy." -- Adam Pick, HeartValveSurgery.com founder.
Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) March 18, 2015
HeartValveSurgery.com, the largest online resource and community of patients with heart valve disease, announced today that it has launched an Atrial Fibrillation Education Platform to educate patients and caregivers about the advantages of concomitant atrial fibrillation (AFib) and heart valve therapy. To see the novel platform, click here.
“It’s disappointing that up to 70% of patients with heart valve disease and AFib are not getting appropriate treatment,” stated Adam Pick, a double heart valve surgery patient and founder of HeartValveSurgery.com. “With this platform, our goal is to educate patients and their physicians about the advantages of concomitant AFib and valvular therapy.”
Heart valve disease occurs when one or more of the four heart valves fail to open or close properly. Heart valve disease is diagnosed in up to 5 million Americans every year, according to the American Heart Association.
According to reports, about 30 percent of patients with heart valve disease also have atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. Its incidence increases with age and the presence of structural heart disease including valvular disorders including stenosis and regurgitation. Atrial fibrillation significantly increases the risk of stroke and heart failure.
“The surgical treatment of AFib during heart valve procedures has been shown to reduce mortality and morbidity,” stated Dr. Marc Gerdisch, Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and Co-Medical Director of the Heart Valve Center at Franciscan St. Francis Health. “Unfortunately, for most patients, AFib is left untreated during their open heart procedures. We need to better educate patients and their physicians about concomitant therapy.”
The Maze IV is a surgical procedure for the treatment of AFib. During heart valve surgery, a surgeon can perform the Maze IV with medical devices that create scar tissue in a specific pattern, blocking erratic electrical signals that cause AFib.
To raise awareness to atrial fibrillation, valvular disorders and concomitant therapy, HeartValveSurgery.com launched a novel Atrial Fibrillation & Heart Valve Education Center earlier today. The microsite provides patients an intuitive interface to quickly learn important facts about AFib and heart valve disease. In addition, the educational platform includes a unique directory that connects patients to cardiac centers and surgeons that specialize in concomitant AFib therapy. To see the AFib Education Center, click here.
To further advance patient education, HeartValveSurgery.com also filmed, published and syndicated two videos across its internal and social platform today. The “Ask the Expert: Concomitant AFib & Heart Valve Therapy” video features Dr. Jonathan Philpott, a leading AFib specialist from Sentara Heart Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, and the “AFib & Heart Valve Surgery Success Story: Linda Staples” video that features Linda Staples, a patient, and Dr. Marc Gerdisch.
To watch the videos, click here.
About HeartValveSurgery.com
Founded in 2006, HeartValveSurgery.com offers patients an end-to-end platform for learning about heart valve repair and heart valve replacement surgery. The platform includes a social network, a surgeon finder, a heart hospital directory, an interactive blog, a book and a new educational video library. To learn more, please visit http://www.HeartValveSurgery.com.
Contact information:
Contact HeartValveSurgery.com:
Robyn Podell, Director of Communications
(310) 721-0587
robyn(AT)heartvalvesurgery.com