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Profile picture for geraldhumphrey @geraldhumphrey

I am in a similar situation as you. I have a 4.2 cm ascending aortic aneurysm, bicuspid aorta leaking valve. I am still working and doing a manual labor job that requires a lot of lifting, tugging, pulling, straining, etc. I read on line that I should not be doing any of that. The 1 dr I have seen so far told me to go back to work and not lift anything over 100 lbs and if I have chest pain to get to the hospital quickly. Should I I be restricted? I am getting a second opinion. If any drs read this then give us your opinion on what is safe to do.

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Replies to "I am in a similar situation as you. I have a 4.2 cm ascending aortic aneurysm,..."

The best advice I can give you is to find a cardiologist who specializes in aortic diseases, they do all their research in the subject (they also normally specialize in bicuspid valves). Your aneurysm is small so maybe too early for a surgeon. If you have seen the video from Dr Prakash in this thread he covers the effects of exertion on BP and therefore aneurysms. The main issue is when exertion causes BP to rise, and that normally happens when you hold your breath and grunt for spine stability and pull/push heavy weights (which may include overcoming body weight like when doing crunches). Not knowing how to properly breathe when exerting is a big reason, it takes practice and discipline since sometimes we just forget to breathe especially if the effort is too high.

Think about the efforts that you are making and whether they are so hard you are not properly breathing while doing them. Limit the effort to what you can comfortably do without major exertion.

For context, I had a 5.2 cm ascending aneurysm and still have a bicuspid valve. The aneurysm was repaired in 2020, the valve will have to be replaced at some point.

Peace and all the best