Help Understanding First/One-year Size Monitoring Scan

@dmia2025 don’t be scared. You’ve got this. At 5.0, you are going to be a candidate for surgery. And your thoracic surgeon who told you that it’s not a matter of if but when is absolutely right. Listen to her. You’re doing all the right things to try to reduce your blood pressure now, and get genetic testing, but the urgency for you is to continue to have surveillance CT scans on a very regular basis and then be prepared to act on it. I would not risk an aortic dissection having survived on myself in 2015. It is not something you want to happen to you. There’s a very good chance you won’t survive it and the recovery from a sudden dissection if you’re lucky is much tougher than a plan surgery. I want you to think about the difference between landing a plane in a safe, normal fashion and making an emergency landing with no more fuel and the engine stopped. Yeah you can do it but you don’t want to and there’s a good Chance that you’re gonna be in trouble. So. You’re doing the right things, but you need to get in with good thoracic surgeon with aortic expertise. There is life after open-heart surgery. There are thousands of us walking around that can tell you that, but you’re gonna have to just put all your trust in your doctors. Mayo is a great place to be. Peace.

This thread has really helped me. I was diagnosed about 18 months ago at 4.9 ascending TAA when I went to the ER with BP 210/115. I was simply told they would watch it annually. Last year, my dad passed away when his abdominal AA ruptured. It had been stable for 10 years at 4.4 until it wasn't. That freaked me out so I went for a 2nd opinion at Mayo. My last scan was 5.0 (I'm 54 F). The doctor said it is no longer a matter of if I will have surgery, but when. They have sent in a referral to the geneticist to see if I need to recommend testing for anyone in my family. That has weighed on me more to think I could have passed something on. I'm trying to get back to a healthy lifestyle and weight. Still don't have blood pressure under control, so they are sending me to a neurologist. My first 2 blood pressure meds dropped my heart rate too low, so they have me on losartan plus a new med for migraines. God bless you all for sharing your stories. I'm not as scared about having OHS as I was.

@bitsygirl : I think you’re settling in to your new life and you’re on the right course . Diet , excercise and enjoy every day . It’s a wonderful life if you pay attention to the little things that mean much more now. I’m 75 and found out about my AAA six months ago at 4.5 mm . Good Luck

Thanks to everyone that replied to my original message. Since this thread popped back up, thought I'd post a follow-up. The surgeon that is monitoring my aorta scheduled another CT. I think it was for 6 months from the larger measurement, but my memory is unreliable I think. At any rate, he had his office schedule an appointment and I met with him. Up to that point I had interacted with his PA. He answered all my questions and it was reassuring to meet with the surgeon himself. The next CT showed 4.5 again. It was read by a different technician, and I guess the leads to more variation. But at any rate, I think it's stable enough to not be considering immediate surgery. I believe we've gone back to a 12 month monitoring schedule, but I haven't been told that officially.

For anyone reading this at the initial stages, I'll mention that I was absolutely terrified at first. I also felt like I had been left on my own to deal with it. My PCP (a PA) made a referral and that office (same one as above) couldn't get me in for months. I met with my PCP and asked my questions, but she didn't have the answers I was desperate for. Over time, I've realized that it is not the emergency I thought it was and that the health care system is overburdened. Looking back, meeting within a few months doesn't seem optimal, but also not unreasonable. Reading on my own was helpful, but I've had a technical education and so was fortunate enough to get some sense of the numbers. I'm really concerned at how overburdened the health care system is and that also frightens me a lot now. I can't unravel the complexities of the health care system, but I try to do my bit by exercising and staying away from fast food and processed foods. My husband is a great cook and loves it. He also loves a healthy lifestyle, so I have it easy.

Good luck to anyone just starting out. Thanks to everyone that participates in this community. It was so helpful then, and continues to be.

Reply to bitsygirl's original post: My understanding is that gated CT scan with contrast is the most accurate imaging tool out there, so I would go with that measurement. I also had a 2 mm difference between my initial ungated CT calcium scan and a subsequent six month gated CT scan with contrast. My recent one year follow-up gated CT scan with contrast was identical to the prior year's which gives me some confidence it is accurate in my case.

I am new to this experience as well. I am due for my one year check in January. I must admit that the doctors see it so much that they lack compassion for us the patients who are having to leave with not knowing what is going on inside of us. A condition that could be fatal at anytime. Keep us posted on the findings of the difference in sizes according to certain CT results.

I think I put the technique on another Mayo thread but, if you have images in your cardiologist’s report, can open the image in your computer, then the instructions might work. Always can repeat them here if needed.

Oh wow. I'm not able to download images, well not so far anyway 🙂 ... nice work!

Thank you. This is a good overview article from Cleveland. I was hoping for the article that refers to cross-sectional area as a prognostic indicator, but perhaps that one will reappear. I have found a way on my computer to measure the actual length, diameter, area, etc from the images MGH downloaded on my portal. Amazing, and I’m trying to assess from these different articles.
Best wishes to all on this journey!

Try this...I was having difficulty with the other link also. Hope this works!
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/heart/patient-education/-/scassets/86da6d9cbf24437d9037875f57ea7c71.ashx It is Cleveland Clinic Aortic Aneurysm Guide found on Google search.