Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

@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 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!!!!

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

@gladifoundthissite CT no doubt

Hi, I'm managing a thoracic ascending aneurysm with moderate growth rate with "watchful waiting and monitoring." Not easy to do.

I'm sorry to hear about that. I suffered a complete aortic dissection in 2015, suddenly and without warning. That is a disaster. So look at it this way: you know you've got a problem and you can do a lot to remediate it and to plan for eventual surgery of necessary to deal with it. I wish I would've known then what I know now. I wish I would've known that your aorta could burst if you have uncontrolled hypertension. You're gonna be fine. You're in good hands on this list serve and you know you've got a problem so you're gonna be monitoring it on a regular basis. Knowledge is power, especially in the case of an aorta. Peace and good luck!

@gladifoundthissite you can search it up (please do that). But I have both for different reasons. Echo is an ultrasound and can do live recordings, so then it can measure the pump action of the heart chanbers. This is how my heart failure amount is determined.
The Angiogram is a computer 3D model of the heart and aorta. Which is great to measure my aortic diameter at any point and spin it around in 3D. With the contrast it can see the blood flow into surrounding organs and vessels.
In triage in emergency the doctor did a bedside ultrasound and could see the 6.5cm aneurysm and my aortic dissection. This kicked off a whole bunch of excitement in the ER which resulted in my OHS soon after. I then had a CTAng to get the full picture which they would need for the surgery. They drew blood to see if I was having any heart attack.
I guess I was in shock and didn't know what was happening.
Like @moonboy - no one wants to get to this point.

Hello, I’m a 62 year old female diagnosed with another AAA. I had open-heart surgery to repair the first one in 2012 and that was a real ordeal! I am being followed by my thoracic surgeon at the VA Hospital and it seems to have recurred. Screenings show it is now at 5.2cm with no symptoms. Knowing this makes me feel like a ticking time-bomb and don’t know what to do with myself! Is anyone receiving disability for this diagnosis?

@sistersoldier You should sit down with a disability attorney as soon as possible because these cases are won or lost based on how your medical restrictions are documented, not just the diagnosis itself, and an attorney will know how to translate your aneurysm, prior open repair, and current monitoring into a legally viable claim. They can also evaluate whether you qualify under the favorable age-based rules at 62, coordinate directly with your doctors to obtain the right functional limitations, and position your case correctly with Social Security or the VA from the outset rather than after a denial.

At the same time, a 5.2 cm aneurysm is not something to treat casually, so your primary focus needs to remain on close follow-up with your surgeon, avoiding strain or exertion, and staying within whatever restrictions your care team gives you. Peace.

I’m Debbie from New Hampshire. I have a TAA and it is 4.6 just found out a few months ago. But I’ve changed my diet trying to eat right and take care of myself.
Thank you