Diagnosed with small aneurysm

The good thing is that you do not smoke or drink because apparently that can enhance the Brain bleed, so are they going to clip it anyway so that it does not come back to bite you in the future, have they discussed your options with you and with all your other health woes you might want to consider some options for yourself, but talking from experience have had an aneurysm it real suxs because they open up your head and clip the artery that is a problem, but in saying that it can cause other stuff as well...such as a stroke, headaches and that is not cool and with you being partially disabled you will have to give some thought to what you are going to do. Also having high blood Pressure does not help because that is a hugh factor for the brain the blood is pushing itself hard to either your heart or brain. The last thing i can add is keeping yourself healthy is the main factor of what will happen...sorry i wish i could have given you better advice. You must be taking care of yourself pretty well as diabetes,high blood pressure are a pain in themselves. Keep well.

My one 3.1 cm was found when having a scan for another problem about eleven years ago. It is still the same size.

Wow...that's awesome your one of the lucky ones.

The original poster and I have aortic aneurysms not a cerebral one like yours

According to my medical records what i suffered was a subarachnoid haemorrhage, secondary to a pericallosal rupture, so yes you are correct a Cerebral vasospasm. So, thank God that you and the original poster don't have to go through what i am going through cause it...definitely sux's. What;s done is done i am grateful to still be alive.

If ours were to burst we would probably need to be on the operating table within twenty minutes.

When I commented to the woman doing my last scan that I now have trouble getting travel insurance she replied it will only cost them the ambulance to take you to the mortuary.

I ask travel insurance companies to exclude the aneurysm from the policy

"What a cold woman,"

i too am finding it had to keep my Life Insurance now as i wanted to change my policy and had informed them of what happened but they declined me saying that i was a risk, I had a policy with them for several years, but because of my aneurysm i need to wait for a year, maybe they want to see if i will die from now until then?

A very realistic woman.

I don't see that waiting a year will help. They all just use a tick list without taking into account the fact that you have had it repaired or that my one is tiny.

The consultant said not to tell them but they would invalidate any other claim when they found out. Another consultant said to stick to countries with reciprocal health agreements.

As the originator of this thread,I thought it time to update my experiences.

I had to see the vascular nurse at my local hospital,she was very helpful in alleviating my concerns,showing me what the procedures are for repair etc'.

She asked me what family I had,I told her that my eldest brother had the same complaint,and that I had two younger brothers,when I told her the age of them(63 52) she advised me to tell the 63 year old one to have the scan as aneurysms are genetic,and he could be vulnerable.

Has anyone else had this advice,it has come as a complete surprise to me.

The advice applies to any problem that runs in families. The problem is getting GP's to act on it.

There is now a national screening programme for men!

Men are invited for screening during the year they turn 65. All men who turn 65 after 1 April 2013 will automatically be invited for screening. Men over 65 who have not previously been screened can self-refer for screening by contacting their local AAA service directly.

The screening also shows up a few other things. I was initially told that I have a of of harmless cysts on my liver and more recently a low grade cyst on a kidney.

I'm in a similar position diagnosed 4 months ago with 3.4cm abd.aortic aneurism - following cardiac by-pass surgery. Also other medical problems going on. Simply told I'll be called for further ultrasound in about 12 months.

No one seems to be able to advise how to prevent it becoming larger; whether to avoid any kind of physical strain; whether any medications can influence the progress or lack of; whether there could be dietary considerations.

It does help to hear the experiences of others, good or bad, becuse the anxiety of knowing nothing is worse than having bad news.

Yours seems to have grown relatively slowly. Hope it slows even more.

I am so pleased to read Derek's post concerning CPR. I was diagnosed with thoracic aortic aneurysm and bicuspid valve two years ago. The aneurysm is 4.2 and I am having yearly echoes, no medication yet. I was terrified at first and I asked the cardiologist if I was admitted to hospital with any other complaint I should opt for CPR in the event of cardiac arrest. He said he had never been asked that before but replied that in his opinion I should ask for it. I agree that no one in the medical profession gives much of an opinion about exercise, lifting etc. Just trying to forget about it between scans. Good luck to everyone.

Sometimes the road seems endless! I survived CPR and was fitted with a CRT-D in Feb. 2010, having been monitored for AAA since 1998. I reached elective EVAR size (5-5cm) in 2012 but was not well enough to be offered it. (mainly too many other co-morbidities). I was reviewed again this year when I felt much better than in 2012 and was offered an EVAR in August. During pre-assessment I was told the  risks were higher than normal but still less than 10%. However in the anaesthetic room the Surgeon discussed risk again and said this was much higher in my case because my EF was so low (10%) I had CKD and my VO2 max was also low (9ml/kg/min). Survival was estimated to be as low as 40%, causing me to re-evaluate. Subsequent discussion with the Surgeon explained the risks in detail and a decision to not proceed. So current risks are put at 10% rupture/year only complicated by the factor of this is my sixth year of Heart Failure! Keep going CRT-D!