@c130herkengineer Yes, he went through genetic testing but they tested him for genes related to Marfans. He also had a thorough physical exam and the only indication was his "flat feet." This was done through the company that does a whole lot of genetic testing. The bloods were drawn at Mayo and we received the results through Mayo.
Is this a genetic predisposition? I, honestly, don't know but I am suspicious there is some genetic component. This first cousin's father died of a ruptured aorta but we are clueless about whether it was an abdominal aortic aneurysm or an ascending aortic aneurysm. No exam was ever done; he was in his eighties at the time and this was in 197x. His doctor (rural Minnesota) and family just said it was "old age."
The first cousin also has a descending aortic aneurysm and an abdominal aortic aneurysm. (My husband has neither.)
This cousin was a weight lifter, runner, and coached his kids' and grand kids' baseball and other games. The VA where he received care "forever" thought the cousin was in fantastic shape. Of course, they had no reason to do CT or other scans looking for "trouble."
My husband's mother (sister of the above) had giant cell arteritis and the ensuing strokes/ruptures in her brain are what killed her - they called them massive strokes. She had vasculitis and died at age 85. Thankfully, the PET scan that my husband had done did not show vasculitis. If my husband had vasculitis then we would opt for surgery as this would be an important risk factor for rupture.
My husband is 81, soon to be 82. He is very active and in reasonably good health otherwise. We do not smoke nor drink. We walk 3-4 miles every day, including up some pretty steep hills.
Since my husband was diagnosed with this aneurysm almost 5 years ago, he has not lifted anything heavier than 30 lbs and is basically careful. He has never been a weight lifter but did lift heavy stuff around our home. No more.
Hope this is helpful.