Ct numbers, what do they mean ?

Mid ascending aorta of 44.1 mm = 4.4 cm. Perhaps it was the mid ascending aorta that was measured at 4.6 cm in the July scan? It's not unusual for there to be differences of 0.2 mm in different scans. I have had multiple scans, which varied in a range from 4.5 cm to 4.8 cm for my mid ascending aorta.

I was referred to this chart:

One more try

My husband has 4.6 cm ascending aorta and his cardiologist said it's barely in the realm of what cardiac medicine considers aneurysm. My husband has excellent health ie. normal BP, normal cholesterol levels and no past history or family history of aneurysm. Given his current health stats, he will have a CT with contrast rescan in a year for comparison purposes. The only restriction his cardiologist gave him was to limit heavy weight lifting activity where straining and holding your breath is involved ... think heavy weight lifter type straining. The holding of breath and sudden release causes pressure on the artery walls. Other than the heavy lifting, my husband is living an active healthy lifestyle ... one that focuses on healthy nutrition, exercise and stress management.

A link to some helpful information regarding Ascending Aorta https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21951-ascending-aorta

telling patients with aneurysms above 4.0 to just watch what you lift is like telling them to play russian roulette with their lives. very dangerous!!!! surgery has improved so much/so fast. enough with the protocol of waiting until 5.0 cm (if your doctor follows) or 5.5 cm which many still wait for. they CERTAINLY know that your situation is very dangerous but refuse to do anything about it. how do we assist in getting them to change this very arbitrary protocol?????

@lewee Living a sedentary life in fear of what may never happen is very dangerous, too. I said in my initial post that my husband is being monitored by a cardiologist with annual scans. We have world class medicine, research hospitals and doctors in our area and we trust the advice given. If we didn't, we would seek out a second opinion from another cardiac specialist.

Given the current size of my husband's ascending aorta, his otherwise excellent health, risk averse lifestyle choices and no family history or prior history of aneurysms he IS NOT a candidate for surgery, he may never be. What he is focused on is living for today, managing what he is in control of, not stressing about tomorrow and following his cardiac specialists advice.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." ~ Benjamin Franklin

thank you for your opinion.

@lewee It is person/physiology dependent. The good cardiologists conduct a thorough work up. If you don’t have genetic predisposition and no familial history, it’s stable based on serial imaging, and BP is controlled, a person can function for years at or below 5cm. It is a major surgery with risks, therefore the experts have developed guidelines to balance the risks. I was a huge weightlifter. I run and bike. My doc is confident that I can lift 135lb no problem as long as my exertion does not result in holding my breath. There are several forums that provide interviews with experts and share their experiences. I don’t want the surgery any sooner than necessary. There are many people below 5 that have been stable 20 years or more. For those less than 5 with family/genetic issues do tend to get surgery at less than 5, sometimes at 4.3 or 4.5.

@c130herkengineer I forgot to mention that there is a definition in the 2021 guidelines for aortic disease. For me, it isn’t an aneurysm until 4.5cm. Based on my height of 6’ my risk for dissection is low.

thanks. never hurts to hear other opinions.