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Exercise, Lifestyle and Life Experience with Dilated Aorta?
Aortic Aneurysms | Last Active: 32 minutes ago | Replies (81)Comment receiving replies
@moonboy Thank you so much for your very articulate response. I have made notes on my next steps...
I so appreciate the direction from someone with experience. At least now I know what to advocate for.
I have booked an appointment with my GP (they are the gatekeepers of follow up here in BC)
I have a phone call with the internist to discuss BP... she has ordered a CT scan of the heart which will be done in July 2026.... I believe this has something to do with calcium and influences cholesterol treatment... at least that's my understanding ....or is this the clearer imaging of the aorta??
Thank you again. I can work on BP, nutrition and hydration..
All the best.
Replies to "@moonboy Thank you so much for your very articulate response. I have made notes on my..."
Glad you are here! I am relatively new as well. I have three docs. A electrophysio cardiologist for my afib, an exercise cardiologist to guide me generally and help me continue to exercise safely as I do a lot of sports. I just saw a thoracic surgeon last week. Gated CT with contrast (they take pictures based on your ekg to get accurate measurements) showed a 4.4cm root. I am monitored annually for now and I have no family history of dissection or genetic disorder (that’s apparent). From what I’ve read you should be monitored annually. Glad you are getting the right info. Good luck!
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@patti14 Hi Patti, my brother is Canadian (I just got back from seeing him) and he had a brain aneurysm that bled and had to be emergency treated, and then of course the follow up. I know how some times it can be difficult to get referred to the right specialist. In his case his follow up was not the best and 3 years later he had a second bleed that almost killed him. I highly recommend that you insist your GP refers you to a cardiologist who is an aortic specialist, you may want to do research on your own and come prepared, and of course a cardiothoracic surgeon, but that can be after since your aneurysm is not large. At least that is my recommendation.
There have been several cases of aneurysms in my family, I also had a brain aneurysm that was repaired (found as I got checked after my brother's first bleed). We went through genetic testing, my cardiologist is an aortic disease specialist and a geneticist, no known markers were found, so he believes my family has a yet to be identified marker. We have gone through genetic testing that hopefully will benefit others in the future.
He also checks my valve every year (and the aortic graft, same as what Moonboy described) and orders full aortic and neck scans every 4 years to ensure no new aneurysms are appearing. He answers questions regarding exercise and other activities, BP, etc and that and the level of care I get, I would think a generalist cardiologist would not address.
all the best to you!!