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Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others
Aortic Aneurysms | Last Active: 8 hours ago | Replies (543)Comment receiving replies
Hello! I’m Jay. I’m a 62 year old man with a bicuspid aortic valve and now an aortic aneurysm. My hospital/Doctor patient portal announced the result from a Coronary Angiography CT scan from 2 days ago. I haven’t been contacted yet by my Cardiologist’s office with more information or a treatment plan yet. I don’t know the size of the aneurysm or what to expect. I’m just very nervous waiting and not knowing what the future holds. I haven’t told my wife yet as I don’t want her to worry needlessly before we have more facts.
I’m hoping to learn more how to live successfully with this new challenge. Not knowing how bad things are and if surgery is in my near future causes anxiety and fear…all the things that, I’m sure, are not good for my condition. It’s currently Saturday, so I don’t expect I’ll hear from the Cardiologist until Monday. So here I sit, waiting.
Replies to "Hello! I’m Jay. I’m a 62 year old man with a bicuspid aortic valve and now..."
I agree with the other feedback you received, I also have a bicuspid aortic valve and had an ascending aortic aneurysm which was discovered as I was being prep’ed for leg surgery at 54 years old (4 yrs ago). My aneurysm was large (5.2 cm) for my body size and needed to get it repaired as soon as feasibly possible. Found the best and most experienced surgeon in the Houston medical center, had my surgery and my life is back to normal. Need to watch my bicuspid valve every year as it will have to be replaced at some point (didn’t get replaced during the surgery as it was still highly functional). Find the most experienced cardiologist to monitor you, someone that specializes in aneurysms and bicuspid valves, and as the other person said eat healthy, stay active (don’t over exert and lift too much weight) and in good shape, but overall control your BP, that is paramount
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Hey there. I'm a survivor of a complete Type A ascending aortic arch dissection. You're going to be fine. Just stay on top of your cardiologist and get a second opinion from a thoracic surgeon who has done lots of aortic repairs. Look for someone with gray hair. Depending on the current size of the aneurysm, they may just watch and wait. Otherwise, if they recommend surgery do it. You won't get the chance to do it is you have a complete dissection. I dissected suddenly at 50 years old. I barely survived and it was a real personal, medical, and professional disaster. If I knew in advance what was coming I would have done the surgery 100 times out of 100. For you: Just relax. No smoking, drinking, heavy lifting or running for now until you know where you're at. I am 9 years post-surgery and I am thankful for every day I have had since June 28, 2015. You're in good hands, but make sure you push your doctors to get appointments and stay in the city--don't get on any long-haul flights or go to the Boundary Waters right now. Stay within 30 minutes of Mayo or a Mayo-like facility where you live. An aortic dissection is incredibly painful and feels like someone is peeling the skin off of your back. It's sudden and you cannot wait to call 911. In short, relax. You'll be fine, but don't wait to get in ot the doc and don't hesitate to call an ambulance if you feel chest pain/back pain. And, tell you spouse today. She needs to know so that she can prepare. It's super stressful, but better that she's looped in before anything happens. Peace.