Two of my husband's cousins (one maternal and the other paternal) have had mid level ascending aortic aneurysms. One dissected; he arrested several times; was resuscitated; was finally surgically repaired by an experienced fantastic surgeon. He had no idea before his dissection that he had an aneurysm; was very health conscious; walked daily; went to the gym daily and lifted weights. He was 78 years old. He now has an abdominal aneurysm (5.5 cm) and is resigned to die if this bursts - breaking his wife's heart.
The other cousin was in his late sixties and had prophylactic surgical repair of a midlevel ascending aortic aneurysm because he also had a faulty valve. This cousin is similarly very health conscious and owns several gyms. He lifted weights too on a regular basis.
Since my husband's Mayo cardiologist described the stress that lifting weights above your head puts on your heart and the ascending aortic, we are wondering since these two cousins shared this "hobby" that maybe lifting weights, particularly overhead, could be a major cause of dissection or rupture.