Dilated ascending aorta and Aortic root

I also have an AAA at 4.1cm, I’m 59 years old male and do a manual labor job at an oil refinery. I also have a biscuit aortic valve with regurgitation. Only restriction dr gave me was to not lift over 100lbs and that if I have chest pain then get to hospital. I wish I didn’t know about my issue as well. I got a couple years to go before retirement. I was reluctant to do my job but now I’m over it. I do what I have to do.

Thank you for the information. It does help to read about other people's experiences with this issue. Like I said before l wish l lived near a really good facility that were experts in this field.
Thanks for responding and the encouraging words.
Take care

@lsrchevy68

Thanks for sharing your experience. My vascular specialist gave the same advice about back pain if ruptured or torn.

I advocate for myself, so I will insist on monitoring.

Thanks again.

Hello, I'm a 55 year old man in East TN. My aortic root measured 4.7 in september and the ascending one measured 4.2. At first i was on a strict 35lb weight restriction. I am 6'4", 300lb. At the time i worked on overhead cranes for a living. A lot of stairs and ladders and heavy tool bags/parts, etc. I had to change professions. Now my dr has lifted the 35 lb restriction and says basically don't do anything that makes you strain and feel it in your gut. Lifting, pulling pushing etc. Sometimes I forget and still do those things. It will probably be what gets me. At last scan, he said they are still growing but at a slow rate and wants me to wait 2 years before another scheduled scan. I had chest pain and shortness of breath and wound up in ER last night. ER dr said they did not see aneurysms and they might have cleared up. I don't think that's a thing and doubt everything she said after that. Earliest appt with my cardiologist is Tuesday. It's a quick appointment being holiday weekend and all but feels like an eternity as well.

@jaysue41
You're right, Tuesday may seem like an eternity when you have concerns, and like you, I would question the scan and doctor that an aneurysm or dilation would just go away.

Besides the scan, did they do an EKG (electrocardiogram) and other tests?

@roch the ER doctor said the ecgs were good, looking in the portal, whoever read them today called abnormal, level one AV block, and left ventricular hypertrophy. The troponin levels were ok all 3 times.

A newbie here, age 69, diagnosed in 2024 before a knee replacement with both the Ascending aorta 4.22 cm & Root 4.02 cm . Now add an abdominal aneurysm at 3.1 cm found this month (last year it was 2.9cm).
I suspect my heavy weight lifting had something to do with it pre-2024. I really pushed my self after retiring in 2018. Not breathing correctly during the weight lifting probably aggravated my conditions although the cause is listed as unknown. I never did breath correctly (often just held my breath).
My cardiologist gave me the standard guidelines too. I won't know how fast the Ascending aorta & Root have grown (if any) until 2027. I still exercise but my weights went from 250lbs down to mostly 25-60 lbs with some leg exercises at 130 lbs maximum. Mostly I do cardio under 120 BPM.
I dread the idea of open heart surgery (with an Ascending aorta & Root aneurisms, my cardiologist says it's the only way to operate on a double aneurism today). The abdominal one would just mean it's more complicated.
Concerning is having my abdominal pop out a new one since I was put on blood pressure medication and an antianxiety medication with low-dose aspirin back in 2024 and though everything was being addressed then.
My blood pressure was never high enough for medication until 2024. I've been very committed to staying within my cardiologists guidelines. Being retired I am not exposed to the stresses of the day or commutes too.
Anyone here who had open heart surgery? I'm curious of what's involved, what I've read via online searches scares the heck out of me.

@patientzero Hello.....have you had any scans since 2024? The size you reference is well below standard limits for open heart surgery....5-5.5cm. If you've maintained a mindful exercise regimen, and kept your BP below 120/80, your aneurysms may not have grown at all. Most who have aortic aneurysms experience this. Why do you have to wait until 2027 for another scan? If you're seeing a Caridiologist with experience in treating aneurysms, you should insist on a scan ASAP. You should get a chest CT and an abdominal CT so comparisons to your 2024 scan(s) can be made. Don't wait, but understand that you're not close to the OHS threshold and may never be.