1. < Aortic Aneurysms

New diagnosis of ascending aortic aneurysm and I’m terrified

Posted by mjm3 @mjm3, Aug 16 10:27pm

I received the diagnosis of a 4.1 CM ascending aortic aneurysm as an incidental finding after an angiogram was ordered to make sure I had no blockages due to an unexpected spike and blood pressure at work. I normally have low blood pressure so I was surprised when it was 189/111 and they took me to the hospital. that seem to come from acute stress at work, but I had a complete cardiac workout after finding a very low amount of troponin in my bloodstream 0.03. Anyway, the aneurysm was a complete shock and now I’m terrified that it’s going to burst at any time despite my cardiologist rather nonchalant approach. I asked if there’s anything I should be doing or not doing and she said don’t lift anything over 40 pounds . But no other instructions other than they’ll keep an eye on things. How do you get past feeling like your life is almost over. I’m 67 years old and in good health otherwise. I eat healthy, not overweight and thought based on my family longevity that I would live into my late 80s early 90s. Now I’m afraid I won’t make it till the end of the year which is probably ridiculous but this aneurysm has me totally freaked out. How do you all cope? And how do you get the fear so you can just enjoy life?

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pamela78 | @pamela78 | 2 days ago
In reply to @roxbury2200 "I am 97 years old but biologically 77 with a 7 mm aneurysm. My brain works..." + (show)
@roxbury2200

I am 97 years old but biologically 77 with a 7 mm aneurysm. My brain works perfectly. The surgeons at my hospital are willing to operate although they have never seen a patient my age. After 97 very good years I am going to tough it out and not go through the ordeal. I am signing up for hospice and watching my bp. Is my plan mistaken ?

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You sound pretty smart to me.

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carlwgordon | @carlwgordon | 2 days ago
In reply to @roxbury2200 "I am 97 years old but biologically 77 with a 7 mm aneurysm. My brain works..." + (show)
@roxbury2200

I am 97 years old but biologically 77 with a 7 mm aneurysm. My brain works perfectly. The surgeons at my hospital are willing to operate although they have never seen a patient my age. After 97 very good years I am going to tough it out and not go through the ordeal. I am signing up for hospice and watching my bp. Is my plan mistaken ?

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I can't say the plan is good or bad,but I wish luck and good health.

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mjm3 | @mjm3 | 10 hours ago
In reply to @mikeneverwired "I looked at the surgery this way: If I didn't get the surgery, I was likely..." + (show)
@mikeneverwired

I looked at the surgery this way: If I didn't get the surgery, I was likely to drop dead at some indeterminate point in the future. That sounded like a bad proposition. With the surgery, I have a little more predictability in my life, so this was the right option for me (and probably for you).

Don't fret the surgery... you will sleep through the whole thing! Stay in shape as much as you can prior to surgery as that will help with your recovery... they told me to 'walk, walk, walk'... and I did.

To your question, they did not have any sort of psychological prep. Just maintain a positive outlook prior to surgery and know that the first few days post surgery will be tough... Follow the doc and nurses' orders and once home, things will slowly get better. There are no shortcuts for this kind of operation but these docs do it routinely and the overall risk is low. Allocate 6 months for the entire recovery process... You will do great!

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This is all very encouraging! I guess the thing I have to do is wait for the cardiology team to feel it’s time for the surgery. Did you ask for the surgery before they recommended it? Mine said my aneurysm is “very small“ and they won’t operate now because it’s considered low risk. It just doesn’t seem that small to me but what do I know? I am a retired our teacher not a cardiovascular surgeon. Anyway, I’d be curious to know When they decided to do a preplanned surgery for you. Thank you so much for all your inspiration and information.

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