Newly Diagnosed: 4.9 cm ascending aortic looking for support

@midnightwolf heins here! I understand how the diagnosis was such a shock you are now regarding making life changes or due to distance from a medical facility. Take a step back, get the best doctors, surgeons who you can relate to. Then get testing as ordered, labs, intermittent scans on time and surgeon will tell you when he thinks it is time to schedule surgery due to size, anatomy, health issues if any. You have to live your life, do your labs and testing as required and trust in your surgeon for advice. Aneurysms are more common than known. You have to advocate for yourself by getting as much info whether in computer, the library, your doctor, support from family and friends.

Two years ago I was diagnosed with 4.7 AAA when being sent to ER for an increased heart rate while having wellness check. I have always been in good shape, very healthy physically and mentally. Having worked in the medical community for years and totally aware of my diagnosis, for ten days I was sad and ruminated about my pending death. Then one day justm decided to just keep living my life. I have a large wonderful family, we conversed about all the pros and cons and I saw a vascular surgeon. There was no way to tell how long it had been there but also to my
dismay, having tortuous
blood vessels, microcalcifications, a clot in another vital,organ and I was not a candidate for EVAR-Endovascular procedure. Also my age was really a deterrent for having an open procedure though it could be done but at high risk though still healthy for my age. I did my homework, was on computer for hours, got all info needed to make a decision in my best interest. Since AAA was already at 4.7 I opted to just get scans every six months which showed aneurysm is slow growing. Last recent scan did show AAA is now at 5. I am now well over 85, have great faith, am in God’s hands and have no crystal ball when my days will end. I am living my life pretty much as I had been before diagnosis with exception of not taking harmful risks such as heavy lifting, strenuous exercise and exposing myself to extreme temperatures. My decision has given me peace of mind, I am and have been in His hands right from the start of this.

@heins kind of same situation here.86 yrs with 4.2 abdominal aneurysm but just found out I also have 4.6 taa. My aaa is tortuous also.Trying to take everything in stride although difficult at times.Haven’t told my family about the taa yet,probably after my next checkup in February.I ‘m still physically active as I’ve been my whole life.Gym and walking a couple of times a week but less intensive.Like everyone says,get tested regularly and have faith in your Drs.

Yes, o matter diagnosis, prognosis, we all have to just
keep living day at a time. Though there are those moments when a thought surfaces; we have to process and keep moving on with our lives. I have a large family
and am going to continue to enjoy them as much as I can with holidays, sports events, birthdays—-living!
Not a large percentage live to reach our age, are physically active in spite of diagnosis, we are so blessed! Live and enjoy day at a time, doing what makes you happy!🥰🙏🎄

@richdecjr Cleveland, Ohio

Thanks..@breick

@dg72454 Before I ended up having surgery, I kept to keep exercising to 120 bpm and below and no straining. I actually feel this helped me recover faster. I avoided anything that could cause my heart to spike and glad I did bc post surgery my doctor walked in a few days later to say he glad we handled it the way we did bc my aorta was tearing.

I will say even though only 3+ months out I am now happy I don’t have to worry about my aorta tearing during exercise. Now I just got to get it back in shape

@bignelie Thanks for your comment. My plan is to return to the gym but use less weight than before. We’ll see what the ECHO says in a few months. What was the aortic dimension when your doctor recommended surgery?

Does anyone on here get pain in the right chest that radiates to back? Sometimes with fluttering and sometimes with shortness of breath?

@gladifoundthissite
Those symptoms are concerning enough to be checked out ASAP

I am on almost the identical time-line. It is so helpful to know others are dealing with the same stages of grief. A 5 cm ascending aortic aneurysm found about 2 weeks ago, emergently referred to a CT surgeon who was dismissive and says they only do surgery if it reaches 5.5 cm. I am a long-time competitive endurance athlete, now 67, and the advice regarding exercise has so far has been too general to be helpful ('maybe cut back some'). It's been a roller-coaster of emotions and as a serious road cyclist who likes hill climbing, I am looking more tailored guidance and support to help retain some joy in the cycling and hiking regularly enjoy. Hard to get that image of an expanding thin-walled balloon out of my head as my HR inevitably climbs as I climb even at a significantly reduced intensity. My research included discovering that a study at Mass General in Boston has found a significantly increased rate of these in long-time endurance athletes and has been conducting a longitudinal study to determine if it's a benign adaptation/cardiac re-modeling requiring a different approach to avoid unnecessary cessation of training or invasive surgery or just as concerning and potentially life-threatening as in non-athletes? We are a rapidly expanding demographic, competitively training well over 50, and the medical community is trying to catch up. Can anyone recommend a sports cardiologist in AZ who works with endurance athletes? I've also read about "wearable" and "cuffless" BP devices. Anyone used one?
Thank you so much