There are some similarities between our situations. I am a 65 year old male with a 4.8cm aneurysm in my aortic root and I am having an ablation for afib at Mayo Jacksonville in about a month. I don't consider myself a ticking time bomb, but it is important to be prudent. Take your meds, watch your blood pressure (especially spikes), exercise and eat carefully. I don't lift as much as I used to, or run as fast or as far, but I still exercise several times a week. I'd say the aneurysm is on my mind pretty much 24/7 but there is no need to be totally anxious. The people who have the greatest risk don't know they have one and are therefore doing nothing to it. There are a couple of good groups on Facebook I joined, one is called Aortic Hope and the other Aortic Athletes. You might benefit from checking them out. This is a manageable situation. I am on Coumadin, and although my Mayo Cardiologist has suggested I consider Eliquis I'm not going to do it. On Medicare, Coumadin is basically free and Eliquis would cost me a couple grand a year. I'm saving the money and dealing with the hassle of watching my diet and getting my INR checked monthly.