Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

I’m a 69 year old female with a 4.1 ascending aortic aneurysm that was discovered while having tests after my heart attack due to high BP. my aortic stenosis was severe and I had a TAVR to repair. I asked about having the aneurysm repaired at that time and the Dr said it wasn’t big enough to repair. Now I am constantly thinking about it growing. I saw my cardiologist at one month follow up and they didn’t do any tests to check it. What is the normal protocol to monitor it and how often?

I am 64 YO female w/HBP. I also have a 4.1 AAA I see my GP this week and the Cardiologist next week. The Cardiologist originally found this on a catheterization in 2018. I am not sure if mine is growing or it stayed the same. However everything that I have read and researched indicated that < 4.5 is low risk of rupture and seems to grow at a slow pace. So I do not anticipate on my Cardiologist saying that I am a candidate for the repair and that we have to just monitor it. What I did find comfort in is that this is manageable with Cholesterol and BP controlled that will keep the dilation from getting larger. So that is what I am shooting for. My suggestion is to not focus so much on the AAA because there isn't a fix but to focus on what you can do keep the BP and Lipid Panel in check. Good Luck and God Bless

Hello, I had an Open AAA three years ago. The aneurysm was a 6.5 at the time of surgery. I was lucky they found it when they did. The surgery went smooth and I was back home in four days. I just had my three year CAT scan review, and everything looks fine, and living a good life.

Great to hear. Do you have any activity or other restrictions ?

I was 72 at the time of surgery, and in the gym 4 or 5 times a week so I was in pretty good shape. After surgery it took around three months or so to start going on daily walks. I did not try to overdue any activities and listened to my body. It was shortly after five months they found that I had colon cancer, so the last three years has limited what I can do, although I do work out at the house with a few dumbbells and bands. If it had not been for the cancer I would have been back in the gym with no restrictions.

I saw both doctors primary and cardio both are not alarmed by the 4.1 actually the cardio didn't even mention it. My primary said it was small and that's it. I am back to my regular routine and making sure my BP is in check which it is. I asked about another CT Calcium score test and the Cardio said probably in another 5 years.

Awesome…. Congrats…. I have a 4.3 Ascending Aorta Aneurysm….. They tell me to Monitor…. I want to Repair it & Hopefully Move on with a Normal Life without Stressing….. Happy Holidays….. Thx Ken

Saw my primary and Cardio they both didn't make a big deal about it. They said it's considered small and to monitor. I asked about the schedule they said 5 years. It's too small to repair now it has to grow to at least 5.5 cm and even then they need to evaluate it. Some people never repair it because it never grows big enough.

Here is wishing you the very best, my only advice is to listen to what the doctors tell you to do. I have great respect for the knowledge the doctors have, Wishing you the happiest of the holiday season,

Hopefully I can help you live more of a normal life than I have 🙂 My aneurysm was 4.5 over 12 years ago. It has been very stressful living with this condition and monitoring every 6 months or so. As it turns out, mine has been relatively stable and is now 4.8. I’m still have very high anxiety with it because that’s my nature. But my doctors/surgeon (primary, secondary and 3rd consultant) say I’m stable and I shouldn’t worry until they worry. But, for over the years I have been crazy thinking about this and didn’t live my life as I would have liked. At 4.3 my advise is, try and live your life…that’s very hard…but you have to try. Keep your BP under control and reduce stress. Yours is soooo small, with monitoring and control, you may never have to do anything. And, if you do, technology will continue to improve and advance that your risk will be significantly lower than it may be today. I absolutely know how you feel and I’ll pray for us both. Happy Holidays!