Six months ago I was in basically the same situation you are. I am 72 and had a 5.2 cm ascending aortic aneurysm and an aortic valve that needed repair. My cardiologist sent me to a thoracic surgeon and the surgeon said I was a boarder line case but he recommended surgery sooner rather than later. I agonized over it for a couple of months before deciding to have the surgery. The deciding factor for me was something the surgeon said. He said I would have to have surgery eventually and the older I got the more difficult the surgery and recovery would be for me, plus the ongoing risk of a dissection. I had my surgery on April 16th and everything went well. I was in the hospital for 5 days. It’s been 5 weeks since my surgery and I am doing cardiac rehab and feeling better every day. I am about 80 to 90% back to normal.