Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

Hi
I’m curious which is a better measurement of the ascending aorta CT with contrast or echocardiogram?

@perthmatt I was also recovering from a broken leg, I had an MTB accident, they found the aneurysm while prep’ing me for leg surgery, I had my OH two months after.

Recovery depends on your physical condition and general health. I had exercised all my life, never smoked, no other major health issues. I started exercising about two months after, gradually increasing intensity, leg recovery slowed my progress some. The sternum takes a while to heal, and it never gets to 100%. I would say 6 months later I was doing full workouts although less intense than before surgery. A year later I was pretty much to full intensity. I did reduce the weights I used.

I see my cardiologist every year, I have a bicuspid aortic valve which at some point will need replacement. My cardiologist is an aortic disease specialist, it makes a huge difference. He orders full aortic and neck MRIs every 4 years to ensure no other aneurysms are appearing. There seems to be a family propensity, brother, uncle cousin with known aneurysms but I do not have any of the known markers, his theory is that we have one yet to be identified.

That was all 6 years ago and I’m at full capacity, retired and now work out even more than before. Learned my lesson, being in good shape helped me then, want to keep that going. Enjoying my family and life as much as I can.

We are fortunate we found out before it became an emergency, we get to plan and make decisions, few people survive a dissection or rupture, and the ones that do tell really painful stories. There are several in this forum.

You are on it and you will be OK!! All the best to you!!!!

@houston13 back to work in three weeks...wow! How long until you felt back to normal? I feel very fortunate we live in an age when this things can be fixed and also be discovered in the first place. I had no idea until my doctor sent me for an angiogram

@perthmatt Although mine was same size and I was your age, mine was not at the root, it was a little higher in the aorta so they had that section of the aorta replaced using a graft made of Dacron. Same type of surgery, different repair procedure. I just read about PEARS, new procedure but with high success rate, better than the traditional VSRR, it is amazing how 3D printing is being leveraged in the medical field.

The recovery should be about the same, depending on your general health, I was out of the hospital in 5 days and back to work in 3 weeks. Read about after OH surgery tips, small things will make a difference.

You seem to have the right team supporting you, all the best!!!

@gcgc Hi Gabrielle....in nearly all cases, surgery isn't considered until a thoracic aortic aneurysm reaches 5-5.5cm. You will be more closely monitored if growth is detected following regular scans. At your size of aneurysm, you may be checked less frequently, depending on your doctor. Proper blood pressure control is important, as are lifestyle modifications, if needed. It may be worthwhile to establish yourself as a patient with a cardiologist who has aneurysm expertise. Best wishes for "no growth" and good health!!

Hello nice to be here my name is Gabrielle. I have had this condition for a while now. Mine is at 4.1 now. For some reason my heart Dr. tells me it's not a problem now. I just had a CT scan in Feb. and it was the same as last year. It made me so nervous at first but now he says not to worry. I know it could kill me if it tears since its right at the heart. Anyway happy for every day. Hope you all have a good one.

@houston13 which surgery did you have? My surgeon is recommending PEARS. The process is already underway for making the external support which i feel good about, but he said he wanted to discuss my case with other surgeons before a final decision is made.

@fastinghrt Well, that's the thing... I didn't know until I had an afib episode and was referred to a cardiologist. The subsequent echo diagnosed the aneurysm at 5.3cm and I was immediately referred to a surgeon. So, here I am 2 years later and all is good again!

In your case, get another echo to monitor growth of the aneurysm and from there you will know when it is time...

@perthmatt when mine was found it was 52mm and I was 54, so almost exactly your case, my surgeon recommended I had it fixed ASAP, I was in very good physical shape and the surgery would be very low risk, I had the surgery 2 months after

@mikeneverwired how long was it from 4.1 to surgery at 5.3?