Anatomy of a Leader with Maria Hvorostovsky

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/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/
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/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/
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/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariahvorostovsky/
Website: https://www.anatomyofaleader.com/

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

What happens when extreme ambition meets an unregulated nervous system?
In this episode of Anatomy of a Leader, Maria sits down with John Skelton — co-founder of cult concept store LN-CC, former buyer at Selfridges and Harrods, and founder of mental health project Hearted — to explore what really happens behind high-performance careers.
John shares how he rose fast inside the fashion industry, helped reshape menswear, tripled turnover at Harrods, and built one of London’s most influential retail concepts — while accumulating pressure, burnout, and emotional overload.
This is a conversation about: Extreme talent. Extreme pressure. Identity collapse. Addiction as coping. And the slow, uncomfortable work of rebuilding capacity. Not a comeback story. A reconstruction story.

In This Episode, We Cover:
00:00 What extreme success does to your nervous system
02:07 How John rose through Selfridges and helped reshape menswear at Harrods
25:31 The creation of LN-CC and the reality behind building a cult retail brand
43:53 Addiction as self-soothing rather than weakness
50:34 Why “white-knuckling” recovery doesn’t work
51:51 How fitness, discipline, and self-awareness helped John rebuild from the ground up
54:33 The long timeline of recovery — and why quick fixes don’t work
59:11 Why high performers often avoid emotional processing
01:03:51 Reconnecting with his children after years apart
01:17:17 The philosophy behind his new project Hearted
01:21:47 What leadership looks like when you stop performing and start rebuilding

Why This Conversation Matters
We live in a culture that rewards speed, output and visibility — while ignoring emotional capacity. John’s story exposes the hidden cost of that model. It’s about what happens when identity becomes fused with achievement. When performance replaces presence. When ambition outruns regulation. And when rebuilding becomes the real work.

This episode is for anyone who has:
Built success but felt empty
Burned out silently
Used work, substances or distraction to cope
Hit a personal breaking point
Or is rebuilding after collapse

About John Skelton
John Skelton is a fashion industry veteran, co-founder of LN-CC, former buyer at Selfridges and Harrods, and the founder of Hearted — a project focused on emotional recovery, mental health awareness and honest storytelling.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/_h_e_a_r_t_e_d_/

🎧 Listen now to one of the most raw conversations yet on Anatomy of a Leader.

Follow host Maria Hvorostovsky
IG: https://www.instagram.com/anatomyofaleader/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/mariahvorostovsky/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariahvorostovsky/
Website: https://www.anatomyofaleader.com/

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

After being made redundant with two young kids, Elizabeth Willetts couldn’t find a flexible, senior role, so she created one. She founded Investing in Women — a platform helping women find flexible, part-time and meaningful work.
In this episode, Maria Hvorostovsky talks to Elizabeth about how recruitment is changing, why flexible working is the key to closing the gender pay gap, and why ‘you cannot be diverse and inclusive if you don’t embrace flexible work.’
We explore how flexibility creates better workplaces for everyone, the emotional cost of ‘doing it all,’ and what job sharing, part-time leadership, and hybrid work really look like in practice.
We also discuss how women can build wealth while staying in the workforce — and hear Elizabeth’s most unpopular opinion about women’s careers.

00:18 – Founding Investing in Women
01:36 – The Myth of Flexibility When You Work for Yourself
02:51 – How to Create Real Flexible Work Opportunities
06:17 – Job Sharing: How It Actually Works
08:28 – The Future of Work, AI & the Gig Economy
14:48 – How Flexibility Can Close the Gender Pay Gap
16:24 – Spotting Red Flags in Companies Before You Join
24:48 – Flex: Building a Career Around Your Life
25:30 – Why Knowing What You Want Is a Career Superpower
30:07 – CVs & Cover Letters That Stand Out
38:07 – LinkedIn Tips That Get You Hired
44:22 – Will Recruiters Be Replaced by AI?
54:48 – What’s Next for Investing in Women

About Elizabeth Willetts
Elizabeth Willetts is the Founder of Investing in Women, a UK-based recruitment platform and job board connecting employers with talented women and parents seeking flexible, part-time, and remote work.
Elizabeth is a leading advocate for gender equality, flexible working, and closing the gender pay gap. Through Investing in Women, she’s reshaping the UK employment landscape by helping organisations attract, hire, and retain diverse talent while promoting careers that support modern family life and caregiving responsibilities.

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-willetts
IG: https://www.instagram.com/investinginwomencareers/
Website: https://investinginwomen.co.uk/

Follow host Maria Hvorostovsky
IG: https://www.instagram.com/anatomyofaleader/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/mariahvorostovsky/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariahvorostovsky/
Website: https://www.anatomyofaleader.com/

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

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