I suffered a complete type a one aortic dissection at the age of 50 in 2015. It is now 2025 and I’m alive and well and writing to you. I had to open heart surgeries to repair my burst aorta. This is not something that you can ignore or defer, or wish away. You are going to be OK. You are aware that you have a problem and that is 95% of the battle. Trust me. You do not want to have this happen emergently and have a dissection. One should begin dissecting there is no controlling it. Make good friends with A. well qualified thoracic surgeon. Find yourself a major Medical Center near you like Mayo, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of Texas, Houston, UCSD, La Jolla, Cleveland, clinic, etc.

I spent the last 10 years thinking about my aortic dissection and I had absolutely no time whatsoever to think about it when it happened. From the time I began dissecting till the time I was in surgery was about 42 minutes. If you get more time than that then your miles ahead of where I was. My quality of life is excellent and I have never been in better shape or happier to be alive. The life expectancy question is one which depends upon who you ask, but my most recent research shows that people who have survived the surgery and have lived at least 30 days after the surgery, Tend to add about 11 months to their life expectancy. That sounds odd, but the thinking is that once you survive this, you tend to take better care of yourself and hence your life is longer. I am thankful every day for the time I have. I honestly wish that I had known. I had a problem and could’ve dealt with it when I was at home in Minneapolis instead of 1600 miles away in San Diego. It was really traumatic for my wife and my kids for me to be in a cardiac ICU for three weeks. I had a really bad experience because I had a complete spiraling dissection starting at the top of my heart, and it was really touch and go. The good news for you is that you can have surgery in a planned manner when you have all of the people you need ready to go, well rested, And with all of the necessary resources in the right place. My fate was sealed and the good news for me was I happen to be in the right place at the right time. You on the other hand cannot guarantee that for yourself unless you schedule your surgery. Period it sounds like you’ve got a good medical team and you should listen to them and do everything you can to reduce your blood pressure and not to place any kind of unnecessary strain on your aorta. Listen to your doctors. Listen to your thoracic surgeon. They have your best interest at heart and they want to help you and give you an excellent quality of life. You’re going to be OK. peace.