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Brain and Aortic Aneurysm with coronary artery disease

Posted by organizedchaos04 @organizedchaos04, Jul 9 6:06pm

Hello everyone. I'm new here. 58F, thin, low blood pressure and active. Last year I found out that I had a large brain aneurysm on the MCA which could only be addressed via brain clipping (craniotomy). It was a shock. My family history includes early heart disease (Dad was 42 for first heart attack, quad bypass at 53) and the inability to process our high cholesterol. I have been aware of my high cholesterol since my 20s but was always told you are a woman, fit and thin, etc. Well recently my gp conducted heart related tests which resulted in a cardiac calcium schore of 611 (99th percentile), Lipoproteins at 1300, Cholesterol at 290 with LDLs at 270. I also have a mildy dilated ascending aorta at 4.1. I am shocked. Is there anyone out there who has had a brain aneurysm and coronary artery disease or an aortic aneurysm? I'm wondering what my future will bring. I have the cardiologist in two weeks to follow up the tests and recently started on a statin. Thank you.

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organizedchaos04 | @organizedchaos04 | Jul 24 9:04am
In reply to @organizedchaos04 "@houston13 Thank you for the reply. I have a great neurosurgeon who performed my craniotomy and..." + (show)
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@houston13 Thank you for the reply. I have a great neurosurgeon who performed my craniotomy and will see the cardiologist in two weeks. It sounds like there is a relationship, maybe vascular issues affecting the arteries and link between the two. I appreciate you sharing your story.

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@organizedchaos04 I had my cardiologist appointment yesterday. She said that there is no relationship between brain and aortic aneurysm. She said my aortic aneurysm is too small at 4.1 cm to even monitor. My research tells me otherwise. I am going to take your advice and try to find someone who specializes in this area as I suspect she doesnt have the right experience. Thanks again.

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professorkrh | @professorkrh | Jul 25 8:28am
In reply to @organizedchaos04 "@hsminc Thank you for your reply. I am so sorry that your family is dealing with..." + (show)
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@hsminc Thank you for your reply. I am so sorry that your family is dealing with all of this. I met with the cardiologist yesterday and she said that there is no connection between brain and aortic or abdominal aneurysms. My research and experience such as yours tells me otherwise. Wishing you all the best.

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@organizedchaos04 Thank you for your kind words. There is still much that many doctors don't know for sure about aneurysms. Prayers and best wishes for your family.

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organizedchaos04 | @organizedchaos04 | Jul 25 3:07pm
In reply to @houston13 "Hi. I had both brain and aortic aneurysms. The brain aneurysm, in my case had vascular..." + (show)
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Hi. I had both brain and aortic aneurysms. The brain aneurysm, in my case had vascular access so it was repaired through embolization. I had two stents installed, 3 years apart (2017 and 2020) as the first one wasn’t completely effective. This year I will have an angiogram to see if I can be completely cleared.

I also had a 5.2cm ascending aortic aneurysm which was found in 2019 after an MTB accident. It was repaired through open heart surgery 2 months later as it was very large for my body size.

You should get a genetic test done to see if you have one of the known markers. My cardiologist who is an aortic disease specialist and a geneticist did one and I didn’t show any of the known markers, but since my brother has 3 brain aneurysms and there have been other confirmed cases in my family he suspects we have a yet to identify marker (we were enrolled in a genetic test to see if it could be found).

I was 54 in 2020, when I had OH surgery and the second stent installed, in very good physical shape (exercised all my life) and my surgeries all went as smoothly as they could have gone.

My brother had an emergency craniotomy for one of his aneurysms and the surgery also went well.

My suggestion, find the best neurosurgeon in your area or consider traveling if one is not available. Also a cardiologist who specializes in aortic diseases, not all of them do and it makes a huge difference. Keep yourself healthy, exercise with the limitations aneurysms introduce (avoid any exercise that leads you to hold your breath while exerting, that raises your BP significantly albeit for a few seconds). The most important thing is your BP, need to keep it under control.

You should consider also joining the group in this site that deals with brain aneurysms, you will get answers there too, I’m in both.

With the right care and follow up you will be fine!!!!

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Thank you

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