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Telling your adult children? Should you or should you?
Just an introduction. I was diagnosed with this 4 years ago and didn't really take it all that seriously. I regret that. I am now 65 and it is 5 mm large. In April I'll be doing a whole bunch of tests. Unfortunately I've smoked all my life. And I know that's horrible but it's a horrible addiction. It's only because of cigarettes that I was tested yearly with a CT scan of my lungs that they caught it. So I know that sounds crazy but I'm happy about it because now they're monitoring it. Unfortunately cardiology was not given one of the CT scans so it had grown. Now I'm due for a whole bunch of tests in April. I really struggled with telling my adult children about it but I figured it was time. Has anybody else had that discussion and how did it go? I'm conflicted. They took it well.
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🙏 my cardiologist told me that my siblings and adult children all needed
to get CT scans. That was particular to my diagnosis. They have had them done and none of them had an aneurysm. My kids will need to be
checked ongoing- probably only every 5 years unless an aneurysm is found, Knowledge is helpful🙏
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1 ReactionI have told my two grown children about my AAA because research shows it may be hereditary. I have also hounded them to get an ultrasound to check for an aortic aneurism and get repeated checks every few years. I think it's a parental obligation to explain any possible hereditary conditions and I wish my father had explained his cardiac problems before he died.
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2 ReactionsShortly after I was diagnosed with my aortic aneurysm in 2024, I informed my then 32-year-old son of the diagnosis and that he may have inherited this condition from me. It did not occur to me to tell him he should be tested until I read your post. None of the three doctors who have been involved in my treatment have suggested that I should my son should be tested.
My son's reaction to me informing him of my aneurysm and its hereditary nature didn't bother him at all and he has taken it in stride.
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1 ReactionWell, an aortic aneurysm may or may not be hereditary in nature. Dissections can be caused by uncontrolled hypertension, trauma to the thoracic region, such as a car, accident, or sudden burst of blood pressure which could be caused by things like cocaine use. So it isn't as simple as just saying aneurysms are hereditary, because they may or may not be. That's sad, the John Ritter aortic research foundation at the University of Texas has a long-term study of aortic health. I have done the genetic testing and I highly recommend that you contact them and get genetically tested. My children have all had imaging done as 9, 12 and 15-year-olds because it was determined I carried two of the four genetic markers for aortic aneurysms, and I have a paternal grandfather and a paternal uncle both of whom died of sudden aortic dissections. That makes my 2015 dissection the third paternal generation. I am now 61 years old and all of my siblings have had CT scans of their aortas. None of them have issues but it was important to know about giving the paternal history. You can get genetic counseling and testing through the Ritter foundation. I highly recommend you contact them and get that done. It's free and it will give you family some peace of mind. Here's a link to their genetic testing page:
https://johnritterfoundation.org/genetic-testing/
Peace.
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3 Reactions@kmm1972
Thank you for that. I have told my daughter but I still haven't mentioned it to my son. Step by step. Thank you and the best of health to you.
@moonboy thank you for all that information. I will pass it on to my kids. I think mine is mostly due to like six car accidents five total vehicles and none of it was my fault and never was ticketed. That's a lot of trauma. So I'm hoping it's not genetic at all but I do believe in being safe. Peace to you as well.