Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

thanks for responding, I have been to a cariologist here who basicly told me don,t lift over 30 pounds and do another 6 months. I just had my 6 month scan and it showed a growth from 4.0 to 5.0 which he stated was accepable for me and do another scan in 6 months. I had to message them back and ask if they scheduled me or do I need to do it myself. They responded that they could it for me if I wished. Seems a bit lax to me and wonder how to set up a second opinion at one of the bigtime medical centers in Seattle or Spokane. NNot sure if medicare pays for second opinion or not

that growth was 4.9 to 5.0

Hi. I had a CT scan to see about cholesterol last week, and I just saw the results. I am so worried, because under "Other Observations" it says "Ascending thoracic aorta measures 4.0cm dia. and is borderline aneurysmal." I sent my cardiologist a message--he'll be in on Monday. Back in December of 2014, I was diagnosed with a Myxoma (tumor) inside my heart at age 58. That was the scarest thing that had ever happened to me. I had open-heart surgery in Feb. of 2015, and I had no cholesterol or any other problems. Now, ten years later, I have high cholesterol, which can be controlled. But I am so worried and scared about this borderline aneurysmal. I think it will help me to connect with others who have this.

You're going to be fine. Generally surgery is not implicated until you reached 5.0 cm. You are going to want to keep your weight down your blood pressure down and no smoking or heavy drinking. You'll see your doctor next week and everything will be just fine. I had a complete aortic dissection in 2015 that I survived. I get annual CT scans with contrast of my aorta and other vasculature and mine is typically 4.1 to 4.2 cm after open heart surgery to repair it. I am still here after 10 years and thankful for every day. You'll be just fine because you know you have an issue and you can deal with it in an orderly fashion, as opposed to an emergent fashion like I had to. Just meet with your medical team and follow their careful advice. They're watching out for you and you're going to be OK. Peace and have a relaxing holiday.

Thank you, Moonboy, for responding. I am a bundle of nerves right now with upset stomach and stuff. I eat healthy, am active, and blood pressure and weight is good. Only other problem that I know I have is Alpha-gal allergy (caused by Lone Star tick, and I can't have any meat from an animal with a hoof). I have been retired for 12 years from an office job, and since then, my best friend and I have been packing for a moving company, and I also volunteer at our local historical society's consignment shop. I am lifting heavy boxes and moving heavy furniture all the time. Probably lifting more weight than a lot of guys! So, are you limited to what you can lift?

I am age 78 . I am concerned about being older and facing open heart stent repair for ascending aortic aneurysm. What have been your experierences post surgery?

I have several cardiac things going on so I might as well post here. I am 71 yo male and have been a life long serious athlete, runner, swimmer, and the last couple decades cyclist. I had creeping LDL cholesterol due to family history that I somewhat arrogantly believed was not an issue due to my constant exercising. Silly me. It finally got high enough that the doc recommended a statin which I agreed I needed. A few years after starting that we did a calcium scan that came back 1000! So now I am on Crestor and Zetia trying to keep LDL as low as possible. But it all leaves me wondering if I should push to get an angiogram to see exactly how bad my CAD is.

As a side finding an echocardiogram found that I have an aortic root enlargement, I believe 4.0 or 4.1. Doc was initially concerned about my BP but my systolic is consistently 120-133 or so, so that seems OK and he did not prescribe any BP meds. As another side finding, I have a first grade AV block, cause unknown. The doc did a stress test with isotope contrast and said there was "some scarring" visible, possibly from an extended case of Lyme disease I had back in the early 2000s. But who knows.

Meanwhile I continue to do everything same as always with no restrictions... ride my bikes indoors and outdoors, some light weight lifting, pushups, etc., but I am not sure how long that will last. I am due for a follow up echo in a couple of weeks to check the status of my aorta again.

Hi Raylo32
Re the CAC score a friend of mine scored 1,200+ but her angio showed 20-30 % blockages so the plaque was mostly dispersed throughout her arteries so not so bad at her age of 64. Same with me at age 65 my CAC was 488 and the follow up non invasive Angiogram showed minimal build up in all arteries but also showed the total plaque at 337!! Doing the Angio is the best thing to do to get a better idea. My ascending is 4.4 so like you it will be a “watchful waiting” process (I’m on a 12 month checkup cycle).

I loved you comment about “arrogance” - that is soooo true - I reckon since the age of 60 my arrogance / ego has been downsized to the point now where I’m eternally grateful just to wake up in the mornings. Best of luck from “Down Under”.

I have an AAA. It's at a 3.7 . I'm scared. I am 59 years old. I don't understand why they won't do surgery until it measure a 5 cm. They told me because the surgery is so risky. Can someone address this issue?

So I had an emergent dissection at age 50. It was a horrible experience that I would not wish on my worst enemy. If you can control your blood pressure, keep your weight down, stop drinking, and smoking, and follow your Doctor’s advice, I think you’re in a much better place than I was in. 9 1/2 years ago. That said, you know that you’ve got an issue and you have good doctors who are following standard protocol, which says that they generally do not do surgery unless it gets to 5 cm. You’re going to get your regular CT scans so that you can measure the progress of it in case it gets any larger and that will give you an opportunity to try to change the course of it if you can and hopefully avoid surgery altogether. Open-heart surgery for anybody is a major deal and it’s not like your typical coronary bypass. When they do any thing related to the aorta, they essentially have to stop your heart altogether and put you on ECMO and likely deep hypothermic complete circulatory arrest. Google that term so that you can better understand it. If you don’t need to have the surgery, I would not have it. That said, now that you are aware of it, if you do need to have the surgery, you’re going to be much better prepared for it in terms of getting your personal affairs in order, getting your family prepared to support you following surgery, and having an excellent Recovery plan in place with the right doctors and the right cardiovascular care center that specializes in repairing aortic, aneurysms and aortic dissection. You’re going to stick to the big cities and the major surgical centers in your area. Mayo Clinic, Cleveland clinic, UCLA, UCSD, University of Minnesota, etc. You’re gonna be fine. Your doctors know what they’re talking about and the best thing for you to do is to listen to their advice and follow their instructions about reducing your blood pressure and heart rate as well as not doing any exercise exercises that involve of a Valsalva maneuver. Look that term up on Google as well. You’re gonna be fine. Peace and feel free to write to me directly if you want to talk more. No one is going to understand what you’re facing, except someone who’s already faced it. As much as I love my surgeons, and as much as I love the fact that they saved my life, I have learned that unless you have had open-heart surgery like this with DHCA, it is impossible to truly understand. You’re a smart person and that’s why you found this Listserv, but you’re going to be fine.