Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

Hi there. Did you end up having open chest repair? How did it go? My father is 88 and UCSF is discouraging my dad from open chest repair after endovascular repair was unsuccessful due to his age. Any words of wisdom to share?

Hi everyone. I just joined this site today. Last week after having an x-ray I was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm 4.0cm. It is Sunday today so I haven’t been able to talk to any other doctors or to any doctors for that fact. I also have rheumatoid arthritis which I guess can be a factor also again not sure. It seems kind of scary to me. My question to everyone is, should I be concerned?

Short answer: Yes, you should be concerned. Long answer: You're gonna be fine. You came to the right place. You know you have a problem and you are going to address it now that you've identified it. That's 95% of the risk--not knowing that you have an aortic aneurysm. Surgery is typically not indicated until you get to 5.0 cm. For right now, you need to get a referral to a thoracic surgeon who can look at your scans and help you make a plan for whether or not you will need to have surgery anytime soon. It's going to depend on how fast that aneurysm grows. For now, you can reduce your risk by stopping smoking and not engaging in hypertensive activities like dead lifting or planking. Any physical activity that requires you to use a Valsalva maneuver is dangerous (google it). Again, you're gonna be fine, but you may need to have open heart surgery to address it. The sooner you get a plan and place the better. I had a sudden aortic dissection at age 50 and it is not what you want. It's a very difficult condition to survive once you dissect because they have to do open heart surgery to repair it and there's often not enough time. So, bad news is that you've got an aneurysm. Good news is that you know about it so you can do something about it. The best person to talk to about this condition is a thoracic surgeon who specializes in aortic repairs. They know and understand when surgery is implicated and what the best plan for you is. This is not the kind of surgery that can be done using a stent fed up through your femoral artery. This is open-heart surgery to repair your aorta. It's big stuff and you need to have a big smart team on board to make sure that you are doing what you need to do in preparation for that sometime in the future. Peace.

I was diagnosed a couple of months ago on a Friday so I spent an anxious weekend with so many questions. I hear 'ya. I also have rheumatoid arthritis, so I hear you loud and clear. My AA is 4.2 and I think I also have a leaky valve but I try not to think about that. You need to see a cardiologist ASAP and go from there. Good luck. This group is a godsend.