Ascending aortic aneurysm – repair/surgery

Thanks. This is a great help.

Hi Ginko, I'm 75 and my ascending aortic aneurysm is 4.1. The only restrictions in my activity is lifting no more than 25 lbs.

I think there are risks with any surgery and MD's do not recommend it until the benefit exceeds the risk. I understand that having low blood pressure should help keep the aneurysm from growing. I'm sure your cardio is closely monitoring the growth and if it is really slow, you may never need surgery. And if it grows, you may need repair but my theory is that the longer we wait, the more likely there will be a less invasive procedure for repair.

It is hard to not worry about this but your cardio would probably be considered remiss if he/she were to proceed with surgery when your aneurysm size is below the recommended size for surgery. I'm sure your cardio will be more than willing to have a conversation about all the ins and outs of having this surgery and why he/she is not recommending it now.

Best wishes,
Donna

Hello. It's been a few years since your post, I hope your aneurism has been stable. I was also diagnosed with a ~4.7cm Ascending aortic aneurism back in August 2021. At the time, I'd just lost two immediate neighbors to undiagnosed aneurisms bursting so I decided to have a CT scan which insurance did not reimburse me for. I'm 6'2", abot 225 lbs.
As most people, I was shocked. Started educating myself and ofcourse this site has been very helpful. My primary put me on 40mg Atorvastatin and 25mg Losartan right away, but didn't suggest I see a cardiologist unless it began to grow. I wasn't content with that diagnosis, so about a month later I asked him for a Cardiologist recommendation. As I monitored my blood pressure, it was rarely below 120/80 so I also asked my primary to increase my prescription to 50mg Losartan. My Cardiologist ran an echocardio gram, MRI with dye, and an ultrasound on me about 2 months after my original diagnosis. The results were mixed. Ascending measured at 4.5cm on one, 4.7 on another. Descending and Abdominal aortas were only slightly larger than normal and no need for concern. Heart, lungs, kidneys, and everything else was fine. He suggested a followup CT scan in August 2022.
In the meantime, my blood pressure was still a little higher than everyone wanted so I again asked my primary to increase Losartan to 100mg and I added a beta blocker of25mg of Metoprolol. You've got to be your own advocate. Neither of my doctors suggested this, I had to ask them. Since then, my blood pressure has been much more stable. I also retired early and we have moved from Minnesota to SW Florida which has improved my health quite a bit.
So, during these past 2 years, I'd give myself an "A" for taking my meds, a "c" for eating more helthy but I have increased my fruits and vegetables, an "A" for not lifting beyond 30 lbs, an "A" for removing stress from my life, and probably not better than a "D" for exercise. Exercise has always been a challenge for me.
My 1 year follow up CT scan showed everything stable, in fact it was read at 4.5cm. Thankful with those results, I did let up a bit on my eating. Completely changing your eating habits is a challenge and I wanted to see if I could maintain a stable aneurism while enjoying the foods I'd always enjoyed before.
I recently had my 2 year MRI with dye. I was prepared for a higher number, but surprisingly the MRI showed stable readings on all fronts! In fact, my aneurism was read at 4.3cm this time. I realize it's close to impossible for it to naturally decrease in size so I'm guessing the tech read it a little wrong. Ofcourse that bothers me too!
Anyway, I'm 28 months into this journey and it's not gotten larger so I'm hopeful I'll be stable long enough so surgery is never needed.
My advice is to live your life as close to normal as you can, take your meds, don't lift!, and try your best not to think of this as a death sentence.
I wish you well!!
Darren