am I exercising too much with a 4.3 ascending aortic aneurysm?

71 yr old Male 185 #
Just discovered a 4.5 acceding aneurysm
No issue … had a check up due to my brother’s heart issue with one.
Been tri runner and hiker all my life
Planned on 100 miler on AT
Doc said should ( should!!) be ok but know where nearest ER is if needed !
What to di … or what to not do !!!!
100 miler canceled …. No ER’s on remote trails !
Confused with all the dos and don't !!!!
Thats for all the comments ….
Still trying to figure out and modify hiking or walking distance
I now walk about 6-6 mikes a day …. Before Doctor visit !!

What size aneurysm?

I am really glad for you. I hope you can keep thriving!!!

Hi yes it’s basically the same. I am now on yearly ultrasound scans because I insisted on them. They are less stressful on the body. Still biking, running and strength training but yes, I do not strain. They are more worried about the bicuspid aortic valve getting thickened and not working properly, so I will have scans, yearly or every six months if it starts to thicken up. But yes, it was difficult for the first while but now I am living life to the fullest.

Hello my friend. I am 28 years old and i got diagnised with a 4.2 ascendes aorta. I got tested for no reason. My uncle is a heart doctor. When he diagnosed me i got really worried. He also told me that he has seen many weighr lifters and football players with a slightly dialated aorta. After a while i called him again and told him that i am having oanick attacks because of what he told me. Hw told me to keep calm and if i would like to take a CT scan with contrast to eliminate my fear. I did. My scan showed my aorta at 4.16 cm with no signs of rapturing. My aorta walls were really fine. Hw told me to keep living life and keep lifting but to be careful not to strain too much cause in general it's bad for you. I got an echo 6 months later. Still the same. The only thing now to do is to have an echo every 6 months and a scan once a year. How was your exoerience? What have you done? Is it still the same for you?

Thank you Donna for this information. My doctors didn't make an issues out of mine 4.1 and I didn't know that the measurement is actually the size of the aorta not the bulge. So I can see where they are saying not very large but rather smaller.

Hi Kmailloux, my wife just discovered this blog and encouraged me to join and share. In late 2019 I had an MTB accident and broke my leg, during the surgery prep they discovered I had a 5.2 cm ascending aortic aneurysm also linked to a biscupid aortic valve, I was 54 years old then and exercised often (not as much as you) and in very good physical shape. My aneurysm was already within the size to consider surgery, there’s also a genetic factor in my family that makes us vulnerable somehow to getting aneurysms, and in some cases they have ruptured, none aortic though. I spoke with a surgeon and a cardiologist (awesome both) who specializes on aneurysms and their relationship to bicuspid valves. My surgeon told me that based on my physical fitness and overall health the surgery would be minimum risk, and I could return to my normal life, it could not be done immediately since my leg had to heal enough to allow me to walk after heart surgery. I made my mind immediately, the stress of knowing what I had was unbearable, every time I felt a little pain in my chest I jumped, they were all mainly muscular. I had my repair surgery in early 2020, and as my surgeon said, it went with no issues. Not going to minimize it, it is painful (not as much as the leg fracture though) and as I was recovering there were moments I felt the worst I felt in my life, but I was out of the hospital in less than a week and back to work in 3. I work out with no restrictions except the ones left by the leg fracture (hard to run, but I continue biking). Surgery is a personal choice but thought I’d shared if you ever consider it. I see my cardiologist every year mainly to monitor the bicuspid valve, at some point it will have to be replaced, in some cases that cannot happen endovascularly if the aneurysm is still there. My valve was still in good shape when I had the surgery so they left it knowing they if/when it needed to be replaced it could be done by catheter.

Donna, I appreciate your Kind words & Positive Encouragement … Have a Happy Holiday Season…. Thank you Ken

I am sorry you have been diagnosed with this aneurysm. And you are right, you are lucky to have had it discovered while it is still relatively small.

I have the same aneurysm at the same size and have been monitoring it for over 10 years; it is very, very slow growing and is considered "small" by the cardiologist.

I am a 78 YO female who was a gym rat when all this started. I still go to the gym but I do limit my activities. My cardio told me that I should not be lifting more than 25 lbs. The recommendation for a male might be different. I do planks and asked her if these were OK and she said anything that used only my own body weight was OK.

I know your feeling about just having this issue surgically repaired but the surgery itself has risks. There are two types of repair that I know of and one of them is a stent type repair that has an efficacy of about 10 years. If my aneurysm grows to the 5.0+ size, that is likely the repair that would be recommended for me because of my age. The other surgery is open chest surgery, very invasive and not something that anyone would want to have done unnecessarily.

Once you have discussed your exercise regimen with your cardio, I suspect you might find alternatives to some of the weight training you are currently doing and can carry on with your life. Hopefully your aneurysm will be static and you will never need surgery. At the slow rate that my aneurysm is growing, I suspect I will never need surgery and will die of something totally unrelated.

If you have both a CT scan and an echocardiogram for measuring the aneurysm, be aware that they are not measured in the same way. One measures straight across and the other measures on the bias so don't panic if you suddenly get a higher number from a new test. Also, it is helpful to remember that the 4.3 measurement is the actual size of the aorta, not how much bigger it is than the rest of the aorta. Your normal aorta might be 3.8 so 4.3 is a small bulge, not a balloon.

I wish you peace and good health. Your aneurysm is likely not as life threatening as you fear and is just something that needs to be managed -- like so much else as we age.

Donna

I was Diagnosed 11/20/23 with Ascending Aorta Aneurysm…. Because my Ekg came back abnormal for Deviated Septum Surgery…. Then followed up with Echocardiogram & Cat Scan with my Cardiologist …. 63 year old Male…..6 4” 230lbs…. 160 Cholesterol…. 130/70 Blood Pressure…. Non Smoker… Social Drinks…. Healthy Diet… Pull ups, Push ups … Dips… Weight Training with 225 lb Bench Press 10/12 Reps & the list Gos on…. Exercise is my Mental Therapy & Stress Release & lifestyle…My Cardiologist told me he will Monitor me every 6/ Months… I need to have a Plan of Action for Elective Surgery & Repair prior to a potential Rapture…..I also realize 5.0 to 5.5 is the Let’s do Surgery #…. I’m very Blessed 🙏my Medical Condition was found…. I realize I have to Modify my Workout Routine drastically…. I’m spending Day & Night researching every Surgeon that Specializes in this field…, I wish you all & your Families Health & Happinesses in this Holiday Season 🎄🙏… Best Regards Ken