Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

Hi, I’m Matt and new here. I was shocked to find out 2 years ago that I have thoracic ascending aorta dilation of 4.2 cm, now 4.34 cm. I live in a state without a lot of surgery in this area. At what point should I consider traveling to a place like the Mayo Clinic that specializes in this? I have a cardiologist but no surgeon. Thanks! And thanks for having this group discussion for us to share and learn with one another.

You're going to be okay. See your docs and your thoracic. They know what to do and how to do it. You'll be good.

Thanks very much. This has been helpful.

Thank you. To say Im More frightened now than before is very true but I understand your trying to make me aware of the severity. I’ll be seeing my Internist very soon.

My name Doctrine, 68 next month, diagnosis aortic aneurysms( 3 cm ) last year. I'm so worry and afraid, but after joining conversation group, read many experience before and after surgery, feeling better. Thank you.

At 5 cm you are right on the mark for surgery. You need to find a really good thoracic surgeon in a major metropolitan area near you and become best friends. You should be having CT scans with contrast at least annually and preferably every six months. You cannot ignore this. Cardiologist do not do heart surgery. They prescribe pills and potentially do interventional cardiology With stents. That is not what you are facing. What you need to accept is that you are going to need open our surgery to repair that aorta. It’s going to be OK. I have had mine repaired. I won’t lie to you, it’s a lot to open our surgery, but I promise you this That it’s much better than the alternative which is an aortic dissection which are often times fatal. Untreated the mortality rate is one percent an hour. So, you do not want to wait and you need to make sure that you have a good relationship established right now with a thoracic surgeon who is a specialist in aortic repair. You’re going to be fine. For right now, you need to keep your blood pressure down, don’t be lifting anything heavy over than 10 pounds or so and get in to see your medical team this week. If you think about an aortic aneurysm as a bulging front tire on your car, you would never just go driving down the freeway at 75 miles an hour knowing that it could blow out. You need to address this and you need to make sure that you are meeting with the thoracic surgeon. Get a referral from your cardiologist or find a new cardiologist. Again, I can’t emphasize this enough: cardiologists are not trained in thoracic surgery and they are not going to be the ones that go into your chest to repair this. A thoracic surgeon can do a lot for you if they know about your condition in advance, and the need to do it. Once this surgery becomes emergent because you have dissected, there is a very high risk of mortality. Don’t wait. You came to the right place and you’re gonna be OK But you have to address it. Peace.

Thank you for posting the video! It's very helpful!!

The main issue with exercising and aneurysms is the probable sudden increase in BP that happens when performing certain exercises. Anything that makes you hold your breath and/or grunt when exerting can punctually raise your BP to really dangerous levels, especially at the size of your aneurysm. One of the things you can do is to find a PT Dr that can help you learn how to properly breathe when exercising. I would avoid heavy lifting and exercises like crunches since no matter how much you learn we sometimes unconsciously forget and hold our breath (at least it happens to me). But you want to stay active and keep your body healthy, there’s a balance (I believe the video gives some good advice and explains well the options)

I have discussed my exercise with my cardiologist. I have an aortic aneurism. It’s at 5 cm.
Like to sail, usually the only stress is pulling on the lines to control the sails. Can this be harmful. What about pushing a lawn mower or lifting grocery bags. It’s hard to know what I can safely do. It causes so much anxiety. Thank you

WOW! So glad you are able to have surgery and move forward with your life. Please keep me posted as to your progress. Keeping you in my heart and prayers for a smooth successful surgery and secure reapid healing. Of course I am praying for God to guide and steady the hands of your cardiothoracic surgeon as well.