Vital Signs

Kudos - A Thank you to Dr. Junaid Khan and all the Staff at the Alta Bates Summit Cardiac ICU

"I met you at the presentation for people who have heart murmurs in Lafayette back in February. I was there to support a friend of mine who has a murmur and also to meet and thank Adam Pick and Dr. Khan, who have helped me in my own journey with heart disease. Dr. Junaid Khan replaced my mitral valve using the minimally invasive procedure and it has literally restored my life.

"With the exception of the 10 months before my surgery, when I was unknowingly in heart failure, I have always been super athletic and outdoorsy and I really thought I'd never feel well enough to hike and run again. I was wrong! Four weeks post op I went for a hike, was back at the gym by six weeks and at nine months I started thinking about how I would celebrate my 1 year anniversary.

"I discovered the American Heart Association sponsored a training program/fund raiser and that the event was going to be on May 1st - a year and a day after my surgery so I signed up. I had a great time training, raised a bunch of money and finished the course in just over three hours which is not super fast, but right there with the 'normal' people my age. Attached is the picture of me running.

"Turns out the fund raising event this year is on April 30th which is my 2 year anniversary exactly, so I signed up again :-). I've been having a great time training and am amazed that I feel even better this year than I did last year...my legs get tired before my heart does these days.

"I owe all of this to Dr. Junaid Khan, Dr. Luisa Munoz, and the wonderful nurses in the CIU at Summit - Toni David Wright who got me through that first scary night, Mia Pannell and Adrian Smith and many others whose names escape me - THANK YOU."

American Heart Association Honors Alameda County Students, Schools for Increasing CPR Capacity Within Community

American Heart Association Honors Alameda County Students, Schools for Increasing CPR Capacity Within Community


The American Heart Association will recognize two 7th grade students and 30 Alameda County schools on Saturday for outstanding work to increase CPR knowledge and skills within the community.

The students are Wilson Hoang, of Alvarado Middle School in Union City and Winnie Chen, who attends Sunol Glen in Sunol. After receiving training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at school with a CPR Anytime Friends & Family kit, Wilson used his kit to train 96 additional people in CPR. Winnie used her kit to share CPR skills with 51 people.

“These young people are to be commended for their hard work in not only learning the life-saving skill of CPR but in sharing it with the community in such a deep and significant way,” said Junaid Khan, M.D., President of the East Bay Division of the American Heart Association and a cardiac and thoracic surgeon at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland. “When someone suffers a sudden cardiac arrest, CPR can double or even triple the chances of survival.”

The 30 schools to be recognized Saturday have offered CPR training to 9,500 7th grade students this school year through Alameda County’s new CPR 7 initiative. Each student received his or her own CPR Anytime Friends & Family kit, containing an instructional CD and an inflatable manikin. The kits were developed by the American Heart Association and are designed to teach CPR skills in 22 minutes. Students were challenged to use their personal kits to train additional people. Wilson and Winnie were the county leaders in bringing CPR to others.

The schools receiving recognition are: Albany Middle School; Longfellow Middle School; Martin Luther Middle School; Willard Middle School; Canyon Middle School; Creekside Middle School; Eleanor Fallon Middle School; Horner Junior High; Walters Junior High; Christensen Middle School; East Ave. Middle School; Junction K-8; Mendenhall Middle School; Joe Mitchell School; Alvarado Middle School; Cesar Chavez Middle School; Alliance Academy; Montera Middle School; Roots International Academy; United for Success; Piedmont Middle School; Hart Middle School; Harvest Park Middle School; Bancroft Middle School; John Muir School; Bohanan Middle School; Edendale Middle School; Washington Manor Middle School; Sunol Glen; and Mountain House School.

Each year in the United States, Emergency Medical Services treats nearly 300,000 victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Less than 8 percent of them survive, and less than one-third receive bystander CPR. Without immediate CPR, a person has very little chance of surviving.

The students and schools will be recognized Saturday evening during the UC Berkeley women’s basketball game. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Learn more about CPR at www.heart.org/CPR. CPR Anytime kits ($34.95) may be purchased at www.ShopCPRAnytime.org.

Valve Clinic Tour: Dr. Junaid Khan Educates Patients About Heart Murmurs & Minimally Invasive Treatment

Last Thursday, I found myself at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California. My reasons for traveling to Northern California were two-fold. First, I wanted to meet Dr. Junaid Khan, a leading minimally invasive heart valve surgeon on the West Coast. Second, I was asked to speak at a a special, educational seminar titled, “For People With Heart Murmurs”.

Dr. Junaid Khan and Adam Pick at “For People With Heart Murmurs” Seminar

My first meeting of the day was with Dr. Khan. I quickly learned several interesting facts about the surgeon who trained at UCLA Medical Center.

• Dr. Khan performed over 250 cardiac procedures in 2010.
• Over 60% of his surgeries are valve-related. Dr. Khan tends to perform more mitral valve surgery than aortic valve surgery.
• Dr. Khan’s mitral valve repair rate is about 70% while the national average is about 42%.
• Alta Bates Summit Medical Center was the only cardiac center to receive a “three-star” rating from Consumer Reports.
• Dr. Khan is a dedicated father and husband. Currently, Dr. Khan coaches the baseball teams for his two sons.

Personally, I was most intrigued by Dr. Khan’s adoption and competence specific to minimally invasive valve procedures. While Alta Bates Summit Medical Center has a Da Vinci robot, Dr. Khan does not use the machine for valve procedures. Instead, Dr. Khan typically uses the port access approach… if the candidate qualifies.

“A median sternotomy is a great operation. However, the minimally invasive port access approach offers several advantages including less physical trauma, less pain and shorter hospital stays.” — Dr. Junaid Khan

It appears that Dr. Khan’s reputation for this type of procedure is growing rapidly. Several patients have traveled to Alta Bates Summit from Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Florida to have Dr. Khan perform their surgery.

Dr. Khan’s Pre-Op and Post-Op Support Team

Next, I met with Dr. Khan’s pre- and post-operative teams. During this two-hour chat and tour, the team (JoMarie, Penny, Olvera, Leah, Provena, Connie, etc.) shared their unique, turn-key approach for managing and monitoring the patient’s surgical cycle – from respiratory therapy, to occupational therapy, to nutrition counseling, to cardiac rehabilitation. In addition to their patient-centric approach, I also noticed their commitment to the caregivers. That said, the cardiac center offers caregivers many complimentary amenities including a nap room, children’s rooms, computers and more.

On Tour Through The Alta Bates Summit Cardiac Center

A Surreal Moment with Gretchen Gillfillan…

An unexpected, personal highlight occurred when I entered the intensive care unit. There, I met Gretchen Gillfillan, a 79-year old retired school teacher who had aortic valve replacement just 24 hours earlier — using a pig (porcine) valve. As I walked by Gretchen’s room, I noticed her eyes tighten on me. Gretchen then raised her hand, smiled and said, “I… I recognize you… Oh yeah… I read your book… Thank you soooooo much!”

Gretchen Gillfillan and Adam Pick in the Intensive Care Unit

There are no words to describe that heart-warming exchange of words. Without a doubt, Gretchen made my day, my month, my year. Most importantly, Gretchen is now home from the hospital, doing very well in her early recovery.

The Educational Seminar, “For People With Heart Murmurs”

To educate the community about heart valve disease, Dr. Khan hosted a complimentary seminar for patients at the Lafayette Park Hotel – just outside of Oakland – on Thursday night.

Even with the rain, the event was filled with patients and caregivers at maximum capacity. During the ninety-minute session, Dr. Khan and I shared our unique perspectives on heart valve disease and heart valve surgery. Needless to say, I learned a lot from Dr. Khan’s presentation about (i) the progression of valve disease (aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation), (ii) the risks of not treating valvular defects, (iii) minimally invasive treatment using the port access approach and (iv) the future of percutaneous valve therapy and much, much more.

The Port Access Approach To Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery

After an interactive questions and answer session with the attendees, the event ended with a book signing. There, I was able to meet one-on-one with many patients and their caregivers.

Great Job To Alta Bates Summit Medical Center!!!

Even with the rainy Oakland weather and the very delayed flight home to Los Angeles, I was thrilled to have this special time with Dr. Khan, the staff at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and the patients in their community. Thanks so much to Dr. Khan and his team for their dedication to and pursuit of healthy hearts. To learn more about Dr. Khan, please click here.

Keep on tickin!

Adam Pick Book Signing