Love Your Heart: A Cleveland Clinic Podcast Cleveland Clinic Heart & Vascular Institute

Mitral valve repair fixes problems with your valve so you can lower your risk of serious complications. Dr. Marc Gillinov and Dr. Kevin Hodges discuss things to consider and what to expect if you need mitral valve surgery.

Calcium supplements may increase the risk of aortic stenosis. Dr. Samir Kapadia and Dr. Nicholas Kassis discuss supplemental calcium, both with and without Vitamin D, and the connection to aortic stenosis, the need for aortic valve replacement and the risk of death.

Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) is a complex surgery to remove long-term blood clots from arteries in your lungs that can’t be treated with medication. Drs. Nicholas Smedira and Haytham Elgharably discuss what to expect if you need a surgery to remove these clots.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) tests are an incredibly helpful test for your care team to learn about your heart. Dr. Deborah Kwon, Director of Cardiac MRI at Cleveland Clinic talks with
Christopher Nguyen, PhD, Director of MRI Research in the Advanced Imaging and Simulation Center for MRI, about the benefits of cardiac MRI and how they are working together improve this technology and the patient experience.

Left atrial appendage (LAA) closure is an alternative solution to anticoagulants (blood thinners) to prevent blood clots and stroke in some patients with atrial. Last week, the team spoke about who would be a good candidate for this procedure. This week, Dr. Oussama Wazni, Dr. Walid Saliba, Dr. Mohamed Kanj and Dr. Tyler Taigen discuss the challenges and strategies to ensure successful treatment and outcomes.

There are many things to consider if you have atrial fibrillation. In part 1, Dr. Oussama Wazni speaks with Drs. Walid Saliba and Mohamed Kanj about the benefits of this treatment option and who would be a good candidate, with special consideration to anticoagulation (blood thinners) therapy. Next week, Dr. Wazni will continue the conversation.