Mine was a 4.8 cm aortic root aneurysm and it was "watched" for over a fourteen years. In the meantime, no one told me to avoid heavy lifting, grunting, and all that jazz. I went about my regular life. I was treated with beta blockers for over a decade for A-fib, so my BP remained in a good range. Imaging showed very slow progression of the size of the aneurysm. My cardiology team remained unconcerned. It was only after the valve began to fail that anyone mentioned surgery and the size of the aneurysm had crept to 5 . The surgery was not as bad as I had expected. The sternal wires are not that painful. One of the risks of both the aortic valve and graph is that you will need a pacemaker afterwards. I had the surgery in 2022 and the pacemaker in 23. I am 79 and doing well. My advice-- don't let it keep you up at night. Get a good team, trust them, and follow their advice. We live in America and have wonderful medical care available to us all!