At 58 I suffered an aortic dissection. With no clue what it was, my wife drove me to the hospital, at 1 AM.
No cardiologists, no cardiac surgeons. Just the night shift at the ER.
The dissection had split my aorta down into my heart and split the cardiac artery and aortic valve, the other end split down my aorta to my legs. I had a 6.5cm aortic aneurysm that was also threatening. And this mess required immediate surgery.
My surgery was 8+ hours, and then I went to ICU. There I had low BP at 50 and a cardiac tamponade which threatened my heart and my life. And so I went back to the OR. A few hours later I came out again, a little beat up. They woke me up five days later.
I had a couple of birthdays that day.
I have a new mechanical valve (comes with actual serial number and warranty), and a prosthetic ascending aorta. I still have the descending aortic dissection and a year ago it was at 3cm. I have another scan due in April.
I am still here.