Two heart surgeons looked at the same heart and gave me opposite advice. One said plan surgery. The other said wait.

At 42, in the best shape of my life, I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse with severe regurgitation. And suddenly I had to answer a question I never expected to face:

👉 Do I operate now — or can I safely wait?

This is Part 2 of my heart story.

In this episode, I break down exactly how I chose my heart surgeon in London, what criteria I used, and what I learned navigating the NHS, private healthcare, and multiple surgical opinions.

If you’ve been diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse, mitral regurgitation, or told you “might need surgery,” this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• What severe mitral valve prolapse actually means

• Why two top surgeons gave completely opposite advice

• The difference between repair vs replacement

• Why “minimally invasive” doesn’t always mean what you think

• The exact criteria I used to shortlist surgeons

• How many surgeries is “enough”?

• Why bedside manner mattered less to me than technical mastery

• The red and green flags I noticed

• What finally made my decision clearI’m not a doctor.

This is not medical advice. This is my lived experience navigating high-stakes medical decisions as someone who researches leaders for a living.

I’m a headhunter. I assess excellence for a living. Choosing a heart surgeon felt like the most important search of my life. And what I discovered about expertise, confidence, ego, craft, and decision-making surprised me.

Chapters:

00:00 Two surgeons. Opposite advice.

00:35 What mitral valve prolapse with severe regurgitation means

01:02 How Serious Is Mitral Valve Prolapse?

01:39 Surgery or Live With It?

02:19 NHS vs Private: Getting Seen Faster

02:46 Palpitations, Anxiety & A&E

04:14 The Cardiologist Determines Your Surgeon

04:50 Using ChatGPT to Shortlist Specialists

06:19 How to Choose A Surgeon

09:44 Bedside Manner vs Technical Mastery1

1:07 When One Name Keeps Coming Up

11:26 Surgeon #1: Plan the Surgery

12:25 Surgeon #2: You Can Wait

13:23 50/50 — What Do I Do?

13:51 The Third Opinion Changed Everything

15:08 Why I Chose Him

Key topics:

Mitral valve prolapse

Severe mitral regurgitation

Mitral valve repair vs replacement

Minimally invasive heart surgery

When to operate on mitral valve

Heart surgery at 40

Choosing a cardiac surgeon

NHS vs private healthcare UK

Follow Maria Hvorostovsky:IG: https://www.instagram.com/anatomyofaleader/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/mariahvorostovsky/

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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariahvorostovsky/

Website: https://www.anatomyofaleader.com/

Artwork and video by https://www.londonbeautyphotographer.com/

If this helped you, subscribe and share it with someone navigating a diagnosis.

These conversations make it less lonely.

My name is Maria Hvorostovsky.

This is Anatomy of a Leader.

I never thought heart disease would be part of my story.

At 42, in the best shape of my life, I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and severe regurgitation. What started as a strange episode during a workout turned into months of fear, waiting, uncertainty, and eventually heart surgery.

This is Part 1 of My Heart Story. In this episode of Anatomy of a Leader, I share what it was really like to be diagnosed with a heart condition at 42 — from early symptoms and medical tests to the emotional impact of living with uncertainty while raising young children and running a business.

This is the beginning of a deeper series about fear, vulnerability, healing, and what happens when your body forces you to slow down and listen.

This is not medical advice. This is my real story — shared in the hope that it helps someone feel less alone, recognise symptoms earlier, or feel brave enough to get checked.

In this episode I talk about:

– Mitral valve prolapse diagnosis

– Heart palpitations and symptoms

– ECG and echocardiogram experience

– Waiting for cardiology appointments

– Anxiety and fear after diagnosis

– Exercising with a heart condition

– Women’s heart health being underdiagnosed

– Why “being strong” can make illness lonelier

00:00 Thought Heart Disease Was an Old Man’s Problem

00:51 I Was Physically Fit & Healthy

01:20 The Workout That Changed Everything

01:56 Why I Nearly Ignored The Symptoms

03:14 Going To The GP

03:45 ECG Referral & Experience

06:11 Echo Referral & Experience

09:03 Hearing “Mitral Valve Prolapse”

09:50 Waiting, Fear & Not Knowing

13:00 Anxiety vs Heart Condition

13:23 Tachycardia, A&E & Health System

14:21 Symptoms of Mitral Valve Prolapse

16:12 Exercise Regularly & Monitor

17:49 Exercising With A Heart Condition

18:39 Loss Of Control & Trust

20:38 Women’s Heart Health Being Missed

23:10 What I Wish I’d Known

25:15 If You’re Ignoring Symptoms — Please Listen

Follow Maria Hvorostovsky:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anatomyofaleader/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/mariahvorostovsky/

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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariahvorostovsky/

Website: https://www.anatomyofaleader.com/

Artwork and video by https://www.londonbeautyphotographer.com/

If you’re living with a heart condition, supporting someone who is, or ignoring symptoms because life feels too busy — this episode is for you.

💗 Subscribe for honest conversations about leadership, health, emotions and real life.

💬 Leave a comment if you’ve experienced something similar or have any questions — I read them all.

What happens when a kid who didn’t speak English and didn’t touch a computer until 15 goes on to lead some of the biggest AI and automation programmes in the world?

Meet Danilo McGarry — a global AI expert, automation pioneer and digital transformation leader who has worked across organisations like Citigroup, UnitedHealth Group, Royal Bank of Canada and Alter Domus, helping companies redesign how work is done using artificial intelligence.

From growing up in Brazil to becoming one of the most recognised voices in AI leadership, Danilo’s story is about resilience, obsession with learning, and refusing to accept how things have always been done. In this conversation, we go far beyond buzzwords.

We talk about how AI is really being used inside companies, why culture matters more than technology, how automation is reshaping jobs and leadership, and what executives must understand if they want to survive the next decade.

We also explore the human side of artificial intelligence — anxiety, burnout, biology, sleep, emotional intelligence, and what it actually means to stay human while machines become more powerful.

This is not a hype conversation. This is about execution, responsibility, leadership under pressure, and building a future where AI amplifies people instead of replacing them.

We Discuss:

00:00 – Danilo McGarry on AI & Leadership

03:25 – Danilo’s personal story: from Brazil to AI expert

12:10 – Using automation to outperform humans in work

21:40 – The chaotic banking story & leadership lessons

32:15 – Why culture must lead AI adoption

42:00 – The 5 pillars of AI transformation

58:30 – The biggest myths about AI & singularity

1:10:20 – How to manage anxiety in a rapidly changing world

1:22:45 – The future of jobs, freelancing & gig economy

1:38:10 – The future of hiring: beyond resumes

1:50:00 – Why sleep, biology & humanity matter

2:00:00 – Danilo’s final advice on execution with AI

About Danilo McGarry:

Danilo McGarry is a globally recognised AI expert, automation leader and digital transformation advisor, consistently ranked among the Top 20 Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence worldwide.

He has led large-scale AI and automation programmes across major organisations including Citigroup (Head of AI & Machine Learning), UnitedHealth Group (enterprise automation leadership), Royal Bank of Canada, JPMorgan, BNP Paribas and Alter Domus, delivering measurable business impact across finance, healthcare and enterprise technology.

Danilo is also a Strategic Adviser on AI to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in the UK and a sought-after keynote speaker on AI, leadership, future of work and digital transformation. His work and insights have been featured in publications including WIRED, Financial Times, Bloomberg and Computer Weekly, and he advises governments and global companies on how to adopt AI ethically, practically and at scale.

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@aimcgarry

IG: https://www.instagram.com/aimcgarry/

🎧 Listen now to a deep, practical conversation on AI on Anatomy of a Leader.

Follow host Maria Hvorostovsky

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anatomyofaleader/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/mariahvorostovsky/

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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariahvorostovsky/

Website: https://www.anatomyofaleader.com/

Artwork and video by https://www.londonbeautyphotographer.com/