Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

Thanks for connecting. I have a 4.1 aortic ascending aneurysm. No surgery yet.

Hi my name is Robert Rowland
I'm an aortic aneurysm and dissection survivor I had my surgery 2 years ago never knew I had anything that was wrong with me and woke up in ICU 3 days after surgery back in 2017. I'm not absolutely sure if I'm on the right page or not but I've been looking for someone to talk to or other people to talk to that have gone through this and survived. If you could let me know if I'm on the right page or where I need to be would be greatly appreciate it thank you for your time

Robert Rowland

My mothers Dr's told me it is Hereditary. I'm checked, so far so good.

Appreciate your reply that I'll keep in mind if anything but watchful waiting is recommended.

Hello Rick, I had to share with you. My mother at the age of 76 had an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm a point away from a 5 cm. so she needed the surgery. Surgery was done in a Well Known Medical Center, Dr's who had done the surgery many times, with an expert team and she came through it with flying colors. Recuperation is up to the Patient. Just wanted to share a positive outcome.

Appreciate the thoughts. Just cannot bare the suggested restraints of no lifting, activities, sedentary life, etc . . .

It is a shock to discover that you have an aneurysm. I was told I had a 3.8 cm infra renal aneurysm 13 years ago. It is now 5.0 cm and I am 80. I lead an active life with no limitations. With my complicated anatomy, the surgeon wants to wait until it reaches 6.0 cm before repair.
Sometimes they grow slow or not at all and sometimes they grow fast and need to be repaired. The repair has risks as well as benefits and most cardiologists say the the risks outweigh the benefits when the size is under 5.5 cm for men and 5.0 for women, It also depends on the particular anatomy as well as your family history and your life habits. I was a smoker and stopped when I learned I had the aneurysm. In the past 13 years, I have kept my blood pressure low with medications, exercised 5 days a week on a treadmill and monitored the growth yearly and now every 6 months sometimes with ultrasound and now with CT scans.
My advise is to find a cardiologist or cardiac surgeon you trust and discuss what is the best option for you. If you don't like the advise, get a second opinion. Good luck .

I am a very active, falconry, cattle farm, hunting, fishing, gardening,73 year old male with a recently discovered 4.2 thoracic aortic aneurysm. For the past few months I have been considering requesting surgery. With the suggested limitations and stress with knowing this time bomb is ticking I believe this is the best decision. Your thoughts and professional guidance please. crb

I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about this condition through others. I’m 80 years old and my condition has been monitored for at least the last ten years and stayed relatively low and stable until my last two scans. They measured 4.4 then 5.1 six months later.
Because of this, I saw a vascular surgeon recently and had a ct scan to learn why the change from one scan to the next. The results explained the two different readings. My aneurism measures 4.4 to 5.1 depending upon where the scan crosses the aorta.
Now under the care of the surgeon with the next mri in December.
Hope to avoid the need for surgery.

A 4.4 thoracic aneurysm was accidentally discovered in 2015 and since then have had yearly CT Scans and echo-cardiograms. As the repeated tests show no growth, both my cardiologist and my heart surgeon have agreed I can now just repeat the echo cardiogram every year and the CT scan every other year, I am happy with that conclusion as I was always concerned with the amount of radiation I was receiving. I keep my BP in check, watch the cholesterol, try to eat healthy, exercise daily and never pick up anything heavier than 15 lbs. I've learned to live with it and not to worry and am happier for it.