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New diagnosis of ascending aortic aneurysm and I’m terrified
Aortic Aneurysms | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (162)Comment receiving replies
@pamela78
I understand what you're saying and appreciate your concern, sincerely, but I just decided to carry on with my normal activities at this point as my risk of dissection is low. I want to see how my echo changes in February, compared to my baseline in August, if I continue doing what I have always done given that my stress test was normal, I have no other heart disease, and overall I am very healthy. I don't want to limit myself unnecessarily, especially since I love working out and if I ever do need surgery I want my heart as healthy as possible.
I have been active my entire life and it has helped with my stress and anxiety, so the thought of not having a good, hard workout is almost unthinkable to me. I'd rather work out and have surgery younger and healthier than be more sedentary and never have surgery or have it when I'm much older and possibly more frail. That may sound crazy to others but it's a risk I'm willing to take as I am only 57 and have, hopefully, many more trips around the sun.
I watch my BP, eat very healthfully, don't drink alcohol, limit sugar, no gluten (I'm sensitive), keep a good social circle, manage stress through exercise, meditation, and prayer, and have a great husband of 26 years, so I hope the mitigating factors will help. I will know more after my cardiologist appointment at the end of February. If the echo is unchanged then I will keep on doing my thing, if it shows growth, I will modify my workouts as necessary. This was the best way I could think of to assess how my lifestyle affects the growth of my TAA. Sorry for the lengthy post... it's a (very, lol) long explanation of my thought process on my particular situation and managing exercise with my TAA. I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday season. I wish you and everyone on this thread peace, happiness, and good health! xoxo
Replies to "@pamela78 I understand what you're saying and appreciate your concern, sincerely, but I just decided to..."
I agree with you and your approach, (except for the fact that I love a glass of red wine from time to time ;)). One of the most common threads in this site has to do with exercise, how much or how little, weights, exertion, etc
I do believe a healthy active lifestyle is the best practice. Keeping your body healthy will enhance the success probability of the surgery and will allow for a quicker recovery, also exercise is excellent for mental health, reduces stress and BP. I have already commented on the fact that I also lived a very active life before surgery, biking, yoga, strength training, and that made my surgery as easy as it could have been (it never is), it is hard and painful but again my recovery was very fast. I restarted my workouts as soon as I could after surgery and 4 years later during my annual check up my aortic valve (BAV which will need replacement at some point) is showing almost no signs of deterioration, my cardiologist told me keep doing what you have been doing!!
I am sure there is a limit and there are endless discussions as to how much is too much. I have my next checkup with my cardiologist in a couple of weeks (I shared a video of him someone had posted on this site, being intervied ) I will ask for the best guidance and resources on the subject.
Eat well, exercise (any amount is better than no amount), don't smoke, do things that bring you pleasure and peace
All the best and a happy and healthy 2025 to all
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You have a great attitude and I'm sure you know your body and its capacities better than anyone else. I'm 78 and have a different set of options to consider, one of them being not having surgery at all. I'm at 4.2 and if I remain there for a while and/or increase slowly, I think surgery would be more trouble than it's worth, but we never know until we get there, do we? Good luck to you and keep doing all the healthy things you do. You're a good example to others.