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Ascending Aortic Aneurysm and Exercise
New to this, nervous (like everyone). 44YO male, 5'10", 195 lb, diagnosed with 4.3cm ascending aortic aneurysm last month. Doctors put me on beta blockers, resting BP around 128/70 since I started with them (it was over 140 before, but only in the last year did I see abnormally high BP). I go to the gym 5 times a week. Cardiologist told me to continue exercising, but not to lift over 100lb (I use machines, not freeweights, so I'm not lifting over 100lb anyway). But I'm curious about cardio as well - I go 3-4 miles on the elliptical 3-4 times a week, and I sweat. I'm sure my BP is raised while doing that. Is this healthy?
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I am a 60 yr old male, who had aorta heart valve replaced, 20 years ago. Have been monitored for an ascending aortic aneurysm, and have been at 4.6 cm for the past 4 years...Was told the number 5 cm is when its time to operate. I am a bow hunter, and now told, NO more bow hunting....I do not want to hunt with a cross bow, and I do not want to give up hunting...I understand, that lifting weights, and that jerking motion is a problem. When I tell my dr its a 60 pound pull on my bow and its not like lifting weights, she just doesn't get it...Anyone help me on this one, or where to go to do the research ????
uPDATE: I can’t say thank you enough… you helped me save my own life… those are my surgeons words. Since reading the update on size qualification dropping from 5.5 to 5, I saw my surgeon shortly after this, expressed how nervous and anxious I was about this ticking time bomb in my chest ( recent measurement 5.17) and that I was finding it difficult to go day by day with this worry, so he consented that yes in fact he would
Proceed with surgery. So, as part of the pre- surgical testing, I had a heart cath, which found a significant blockage (87 %)…therefore my aortic aneurysm repair surgery added a by pass procedure as well. I had open heart Surgery on 1/11/23, I was in the hospital a full week, and am now home recovering. THANK YOU AND THANK GOD for giving me that article and guidance. I saved my own life. I’m am 54, 128 pounds and in relative good shape, having regularly worked out 3-4 days a week. Then I worried about working out and stopped all together because I was too afraid. I hope this can help someone else advocate for themselves. If you are living every day in panic and anxiety like I was, please advocate for yourself- be pushy- do what you have to do. I’m so thankful for this article and being armed with it to advocate for myself , because I saved my own life.
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3 ReactionsThank you so much for sharing this update.
I agree -- one has to read any part you are interested in multiple times -- at least I did. I found pretty much everything I needed in the first chapter. You may also.
THANK YOU. The article is quite overwhelming but I'm able to get some useful info that I can talk with my surgeon about at my upcoming appointment. I appreciate your response and hel with this.
Joanne, thank you so much for your reply and for sending me the link...I am reading through it right now and thankfully am meeting with surgeon tomorrow because I'm beside myself with anxiety right now over this, especially considering the updated guidelines you have clued me in to. My surgeon was using the 5.5 cm guideline, but again since being discovered just a little over a year ago it has grown, from what I am learning significantly. I will be extremely careful now and thank you again!
Here is a link to the whole article.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001106
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1 ReactionHere is the link to the guidelines @hsminc mentioned above. https://www.acc.org/About-ACC/Press-Releases/2022/11/02/18/18/ACC-AHA-Issue-Aortic-Disease-Guideline
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1 ReactionThe American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association have come out with new recommendations. Recommendations from 2010 were that repair surgery should be done with the aneurysm reaches 5.5 cm. The new guidelines state 5.0 cm. Apparently, they lost patients by stretching to 5.5 cm. You might, therefore, be careful until you see your surgeon next week in light of these new recommendations.
Best wishes,
Joanne
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2 Reactionsken82, Reading your response was just what I needed to read. I was recently diagnosed with TAA (4.3) in October and since adding Amlodipine Besylate (calcium channel blocker) to my statin pill I feel much better. I am not having any issues nor noticed any "hiccups" from my heart murmur. I am under surveillance by the Cardiac Thoracic Surgery Team but I do not need another CT scan for two years. Reading your exercise of walking your property and doing maintenance sounds about right to me. I have been nervous and of course, allowed my imagination to run away from me. My husband takes care of all the heavy lifting as he has for years. I am 71 and feeling well. Your words pushed me to return to walking...thank you.