Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

Andy,
My situation is pretty similar to yours. I am 5 years older, a little taller, and about 20 pounds lighter than you and have been a competitive marathoner and rower for a good portion of my adult life. Also found via a precautionary CT scan for a calcium score. I'm at 5.0. Found out less than 6 months ago and am heading back for 6 month follow-up scan in a little over a month. It's been an adjustment in a number of ways and has taken me some time, so you should expect the mental sorting out process to take you some time as well (I've read studies that depression amongst people who were newly-diagnosed is not uncommon). For me, exercise has been a stress reliever and learning to dial back on the intensity of exercise while still exercising has been an adjustment. It's also been challenging because doctors tend not to give you objective guidelines for these things (I use a heart monitor to generally keep in a "zone 2" level of intensity and don't do any heavy lifting). My doc told me at 5.0 I am in a "gray" zone where most insurance will cover surgery, but I have some discretion about whether to wait until it hits 5.5 (which will likely be sometime in the next five years based on an average annual progression of 0.1) or elect to have it done now. Initially, I was leaning toward a wait and see approach, but more recently have been thinking about just having the procedure done later this year since I would be a decent candidate for successful surgery and for peace of mind. Good luck to you. The stories of others who have gone through this does help.

Hello, I had my surgery 4 years ago at 54, I was in great shape physically as I exercised frequently and never smoked, my surgeon gave me over 99% probability of no complications based on that and suggested I had it taken care of sooner than later, mine was larger 5.2, and I’m a smaller frame. I couldn’t wait to have it fixed, I was healing from leg fracture surgery (how they found the aneurysm) so had to wait a bit, but 3 months after leg surgery I had my open heart. Not going to lie, it is not pleasant but I recovered quickly, out of the hospital in 5 days, back to work in 3 weeks. I slowly went back to my workouts, limited by both leg and chest but 4 years later I am at full work outs (can’t run anymore because of the leg, but bike and swim often)

At the size of yours I think surgery is just a matter of time , I would consider taking care of it when your body is at its best and that may be now.

Hope everything goes well and if you have any questions about surgery, etc just let me know

Good luck

Andy,
My situation is pretty similar to yours. I am 5 years older, a little taller, and about 20 pounds lighter than you and have been a competitive marathoner and rower for a good portion of my adult life. Also found via a precautionary CT scan for a calcium score. I'm at 5.0. Found out less than 6 months ago and am heading back for 6 month follow-up scan in a little over a month. It's been an adjustment in a number of ways and has taken me some time, so you should expect the mental sorting out process to take you some time as well (I've read studies that depression amongst people who were newly-diagnosed is not uncommon). For me, exercise has been a stress reliever and learning to dial back on the intensity of exercise while still exercising has been an adjustment. It's also been challenging because doctors tend not to give you objective guidelines for these things (I use a heart monitor to generally keep in a "zone 2" level of intensity and don't do any heavy lifting). My doc told me at 5.0 I am in a "gray" zone where most insurance will cover surgery, but I have some discretion about whether to wait until it hits 5.5 (which will likely be sometime in the next five years based on an average annual progression of 0.1) or elect to have it done now. Initially, I was leaning toward a wait and see approach, but more recently have been thinking about just having the procedure done later this year since I would be a decent candidate for successful surgery and for peace of mind. Good luck to you. The stories of others who have gone through this does help.

Hello, my name is Andy and I am a 53 y/o white male who just recently (this week) found out that I have a 4.7 cm Ascending Aortic Aneurysm. I am 6'2, 225 lbs and have been active all my life. I happened to find this on a routine CT screening for a Cardiac Calcium Score. The only reason why I even asked for the test to be done was for peace of mind. Well, my Calcium score was only 51 but what they did find was the aneurysm (Totally shocked). I have battled my entire life with Anxiety (Probably because I have been a nurse for more than 30 years in ER and my mind goes to the worst situations possible). Now this- How does one cope? Is this a death sentence? My Cardio Vascular Surgeon wants to watch it for 6 months and re-do the CTA to see if it has gotten worse. He stated surgery (Open Heart) is the only way to correct it and that usually is not needed until at least 5.5 or 6 cm, when the risk of not doing the corrective surgery outweighs the risk of surgery. I am sorry I am rambling, but my mind just spins in all of this yuck. Has anyone else been here? Are there people who have lived with this for a while? Can we live a normal life with just some moderation changes? Looking for positives through all of this.

Hello, my name is Andy and I am a 53 y/o white male who just recently (this week) found out that I have a 4.7 cm Ascending Aortic Aneurysm. I am 6'2, 225 lbs and have been active all my life. I happened to find this on a routine CT screening for a Cardiac Calcium Score. The only reason why I even asked for the test to be done was for peace of mind. Well, my Calcium score was only 51 but what they did find was the aneurysm (Totally shocked). I have battled my entire life with Anxiety (Probably because I have been a nurse for more than 30 years in ER and my mind goes to the worst situations possible). Now this- How does one cope? Is this a death sentence? My Cardio Vascular Surgeon wants to watch it for 6 months and re-do the CTA to see if it has gotten worse. He stated surgery (Open Heart) is the only way to correct it and that usually is not needed until at least 5.5 or 6 cm, when the risk of not doing the corrective surgery outweighs the risk of surgery. I am sorry I am rambling, but my mind just spins in all of this yuck. Has anyone else been here? Are there people who have lived with this for a while? Can we live a normal life with just some moderation changes? Looking for positives through all of this.

Relax. You're going to be okay. You're ahead of 99.9% of all aortic dissection patients because you KNOW. I suffered a complete dissection at age 50 in 2015. I am hear to tell that story. You are going to be okay. The CT will alert them to changes. If your doc says have surgery, have surgery. You can do this. I did it and it was a nightmare to have a sudden and complete Type A1 aortic dissection. BUT: You know in advance. That's the difference between having a blowout at 75MPH on your front right tire vs. making a plan to go into the mechanic's shop and having the tire replaced when you see that it has a bulge. Don't panic. You're not alone. My contact information is attached to my name. Feel free to call or email me directly if you want to talk. I knew nothing about my aorta until it blew and then it was an all-hands-on-deck nightmare scenario (42 minutes from the start of the dissection to undergoing open heart surgery on a business trip in San Diego). If I had known what I was in for, I would have done the surgery well in advance of the ultimate dissection. If you catch it early LIKE YOU HAVE, your chance of full recovery is excellent. You're going to be okay. Call me if you want to chat. I am a non-medical expert on aortic dissections. I can tell you things that the doctors can't because they have never suffered and survived a complete dissection. Peace.

Relax. You're going to be okay. You're ahead of 99.9% of all aortic dissection patients because you KNOW. I suffered a complete dissection at age 50 in 2015. I am hear to tell that story. You are going to be okay. The CT will alert them to changes. If your doc says have surgery, have surgery. You can do this. I did it and it was a nightmare to have a sudden and complete Type A1 aortic dissection. BUT: You know in advance. That's the difference between having a blowout at 75MPH on your front right tire vs. making a plan to go into the mechanic's shop and having the tire replaced when you see that it has a bulge. Don't panic. You're not alone. My contact information is attached to my name. Feel free to call or email me directly if you want to talk. I knew nothing about my aorta until it blew and then it was an all-hands-on-deck nightmare scenario (42 minutes from the start of the dissection to undergoing open heart surgery on a business trip in San Diego). If I had known what I was in for, I would have done the surgery well in advance of the ultimate dissection. If you catch it early LIKE YOU HAVE, your chance of full recovery is excellent. You're going to be okay. Call me if you want to chat. I am a non-medical expert on aortic dissections. I can tell you things that the doctors can't because they have never suffered and survived a complete dissection. Peace.