What I get from the article is that the weakness in the aortic wall creates "flutter". From that instability, a dissection or rupture can occur.

Terrible percentages when it comes to rupture...pretty close to 100% fatal. For dissection, it's all about how fast they can get you to a hospital (that has the ability) to operate. My cardiologist said the number is about 50% survival.

Super important that responders know you have an aneurysm. At least you know!

People who experience a dissection and don't know they have an aneurysm can die by the time the hospital figures out the problem. John Ritter died because of a misdiagnosis.

If the responders know it's an aneurysm, they'll medivac you to a hospital that can do the surgery. Every minute counts...

I wish I knew more about the FIP test. I've called and emailed Northwestern but they don't respond. My guess is they feel they need more research before they make the information available to the world. God, I hope that's soon.

Next month if my CT scan is 5.0 I'm going for surgery. Not a pleasant thought. But if you're at a high volume hospital that does hundreds of aortic repairs a year, your chances of survival are greater than 99%.

But, wouldn't it be nice if an MRI could tell you "you have 3 years without any worry"?