I am also 81 and my "mildly dilated" ascending aorta was noted in '04 as result of seeing a Cardiologist for PVC's observed during my treadmill stress test. An Echocardiogram showed my AoD to be 4.4 cm. In 2007 a CT w c measured 4.8 cm. Since then, I have had 10 CT's showing the aorta to be anywhere between 4.4 to 5.0 cm. The latest was 4.8 cm. The Echo AoD's have ranged between 4.4 and 3.7 cm with the latest being 3.8 cm. Point being a dilated aorta does not necessarily mean the end is near. One thing I find fascinating is that the CT Program can extract an image of the aorta. Earl the Pearl