@bryanfox Hi Bryan, You are much younger than I am and you are male so I think your weight lifting limits will be different than mine. You are on a beta blocker as am I. My blood pressure doesn't really get much higher when I do my cardio work out. I attribute that to the beta blocker (and I split the smallest dose tablet). I think your MD is giving you proper advice to continue your cardio as I don't think that is the issue. I would be careful about doing the" jerk and lift" moves I see at the gym. My feeling is that jerking the weight will place extra strain on the aneurysm but that is just my opinion. And I understand it is important to exhale when lifting, don't hold your breath as THAT will raise blood pressure. But you seem to be an experienced weight lifter and I am sure I am preaching to the choir here.

I don't think it rises much from your norm once you properly warm up and engage in the exercise from what I've read. How much do you weigh that allows you to life 100 lbs?

I'm 45 with an ascending aortic aneurysm currently at a 49mm and a bicuspod aortic valve. My Dr said keep exercising as normal but I couldn't. I lose my breath and my heart races. My second opinion Dr said definitely keep the heart rate below 130 bpm and nothing heavier than 70lbs. So I've gone from kickboxing 5 to 7 times a week to walking and light weights. It's an adjustment.