“Cardiovascular disease is a devastating clinical problem in the Western world and represents a serious public health challenge,” according to STS member Thomas A. Schwann, MD, a Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery Chief, and Director of the Heart and Vascular Center at the University of Toledo Medical Center.

Dr. Schwann recommends that patients understand the choices available to them and request that their surgeons use “optimal 21st century surgical techniques to improve their perioperative outcomes.”

Read what Dr. Shwann tells the HuffPost about new advances in heart surgery.