Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

@ktracy515 Good morning to you! .5cm growth in 6 months is significant. Important is the actual size now. The growth rate you mention warrants closer attention....more frequent CT scans for sure. The size where surgery is warranted is 5-5.5 cm by current standards. Also important is your age, current health, and any other factors affecting your present health. Hopefully you have contact with a cardiologist whose specialty is aortic aneurysms. Also, you may want to find a cardio-thoracic surgeon experienced with aneurysm repair. Best wishes for improving health!!

55 year old male. Just diagnosed with an aneurysm described in the vicinity of the sinus of valsalva. It is large, I hate to say how large it is because I am still stunned by the news. I had some chest pains and decided to investigate ( I have knowledge of medicine). Dignosed with echo and confirmed with contrast CT. Recheck in 6 months with an MRI. Cardiologist was very relaxed and said I had decades to live. Except, I don't know how to live with this. I've lived a high stress, super active life and now I don't know how to focus. I feel like I am waiting for that time, cause it will come. I almost feel like I have wasted a lot of my life not being active enough because now I have to slow down and be more cautious. This is tough news. 6 months to recheck and part of me thinks it can't come soon enough.

@ctflyr good morning, so I had another CTA scan at 5 months 24 days, my aneurysm grew another .5 cm, now how often should I have it checked? Is this in fact excessive growth?
Thank you!

@ktracy515
Hello.....I'm sure you know the size you describe didn't start at zero. I believe a "normal" ascending aorta can be around 3.4cm for a male your age. The size for concern and surgical intervention is 5-5.5cm, depending on the growth rate. There are criteria for intervention sooner, that is governed by growth rate and individual patient condition. Mine started around 3.8cm almost 8 years ago, and it is now at 4.5cm, probably primarily due to blood pressure issues, and afib. Early BP control is essential for long term growth control. Hope this gives you some more perspective. Best of luck with your treatment going forward!!

@patti14 Seeing a cardiologist is a great step forward (again I am aware of the restrictions in Canada). Things for you to take into account as you talk to the cardiologist: Echocardiograms can give a measure of the aneurysm but they are not the most accurate, a CT scan will be more accurate and usually used to establish a growth rate. The Echo will be used to monitor your BAV though. Establishing the growth rate is important in your case, just having an estimate that is based on "what usually happens" is not enough, you need to get your actual growth rate determined and that is usually done by several periodical measurements, that will help your cardiologist determine a much better follow up protocol.
You also need to get a baseline of the health of your BAV, only a cardiologist can do that based on the Echo results. The functionality of BAVs may deteriorate over time and in some cases (if not most) will need to be replaced. In my case for example, mine gets checked every year and this year it went from mild to moderate, which means it has deteriorated a bit from past years, my cardiologist told me I will need to have it replaced before I develop symptoms, when you start getting symptoms your heart is getting taxed and starts getting affected, I estimate mine will need replacement in 4-5 years. BAVs can be replaced endovascularly (lower risk procedure) but not with an aneurysm.

As others have said, try to stay calm, knowledge is power, the more prepared you are the better questions you will have and will allow you to insist on follow up protocols that are better for you. Your aneurysm is on the small side, so probability of rupture/dissection are small, but controlling your BP is paramount, high BP may contribute to more rapid growth.

As I have said many time, stay active, treat your body well, try to control your anxiety. Yoga, intense exercise, travel, spending time with family work for me, I am sure you can find activities that can help you, also consider seeing a professional (therapist) if your feel you need help.

All the best

@patti14 Seeing a cardiologist is a great step forward (again I am aware of the restrictions in Canada). Things for you to take into account as you talk to the cardiologist: Echocardiograms can give a measure of the aneurysm but they are not the most accurate, a CT scan will be more accurate and usually used to establish a growth rate. The Echo will be used to monitor your BAV though. Establishing the growth rate is important in your case, just having an estimate that is based on "what usually happens" is not enough, you need to get your actual growth rate determined and that is usually done by several periodical measurements, that will help your cardiologist determine a much better follow up protocol.
You also need to get a baseline of the health of your BAV, only a cardiologist can do that based on the Echo results. The functionality of BAVs may deteriorate over time and in some cases (if not most) will need to be replaced. In my case for example, mine gets checked every year and this year it went from mild to moderate, which means it has deteriorated a bit from past years, my cardiologist told me I will need to have it replaced before I develop symptoms, when you start getting symptoms your heart is getting taxed and starts getting affected, I estimate mine will need replacement in 4-5 years. BAVs can be replaced endovascularly (lower risk procedure) but not with an aneurysm.

As others have said, try to stay calm, knowledge is power, the more prepared you are the better questions you will have and will allow you to insist on follow up protocols that are better for you. Your aneurysm is on the small side, so probability of rupture/dissection are small, but controlling your BP is paramount, high BP may contribute to more rapid growth.

As I have said many time, stay active, treat your body well, try to control your anxiety. Yoga, intense exercise, travel, spending time with family work for me, I am sure you can find activities that can help you, also consider seeing a professional (therapist) if your feel you need help.

All the best

@houston13 Thank so much for the info. I have received a cardiologist assessment date for end of July. You mentioned "intense exercise" to control anxiety... how do you know how intense to go?? I thought we were supposed to "take it easy" and not stress the heart..

@patti14 Seeing a cardiologist is a great step forward (again I am aware of the restrictions in Canada). Things for you to take into account as you talk to the cardiologist: Echocardiograms can give a measure of the aneurysm but they are not the most accurate, a CT scan will be more accurate and usually used to establish a growth rate. The Echo will be used to monitor your BAV though. Establishing the growth rate is important in your case, just having an estimate that is based on "what usually happens" is not enough, you need to get your actual growth rate determined and that is usually done by several periodical measurements, that will help your cardiologist determine a much better follow up protocol.
You also need to get a baseline of the health of your BAV, only a cardiologist can do that based on the Echo results. The functionality of BAVs may deteriorate over time and in some cases (if not most) will need to be replaced. In my case for example, mine gets checked every year and this year it went from mild to moderate, which means it has deteriorated a bit from past years, my cardiologist told me I will need to have it replaced before I develop symptoms, when you start getting symptoms your heart is getting taxed and starts getting affected, I estimate mine will need replacement in 4-5 years. BAVs can be replaced endovascularly (lower risk procedure) but not with an aneurysm.

As others have said, try to stay calm, knowledge is power, the more prepared you are the better questions you will have and will allow you to insist on follow up protocols that are better for you. Your aneurysm is on the small side, so probability of rupture/dissection are small, but controlling your BP is paramount, high BP may contribute to more rapid growth.

As I have said many time, stay active, treat your body well, try to control your anxiety. Yoga, intense exercise, travel, spending time with family work for me, I am sure you can find activities that can help you, also consider seeing a professional (therapist) if your feel you need help.

All the best