Living with an Aortic Aneurysm

Just found this site, very depressed about being recently diagnosed with an Ascending Aortic Aneurysm measuring 4.7cm. It was found from a CT Scan I had and now I am trying to determine what my life is going to look like. I am a recently retired 66 year old male who works out every day, who until now was loving life. I just returned from trying to work out, at the same time wondering why waste my time. 

I have a number of cardiologist as friends, my wife is a cardo RN, and so I am hearing about it from all directions. From past CT Scans, I evidently have had this since 2012, but no one picked up on it until a radiologist went back and review the scans.

It has been stabilized for about 2-3 years. Going to see my formal cardiologist this week. 

Hi Doug.  I'm so sorry for what you are going through.  I am a 63 yr old recently retired nurse and I have known about my Ascending Aortic Aneurysm for about two years.  It is very scary and sometimes depressing but as someone who is living with this please know that the situation will get easier to live with. You do adjust and eventually don't think about it constantly. On this site you will find people who have lived with their aneurysms for many years, some who have had surgery and many who have chosen not to or are in the "watch and wait" period.  My aneurysm measures 4.5 cm and from what I have learned doctors do not want to consider surgery until it is at lease 5 - 5.5 cm unless you have extenuating circumstances.  Some people have aneurysms that remain stable or grow very slowly.  I also work out and have learned what I should and should not do but I believe it is important to keep your cardiovascular system strong to possibly slow the growth and also to be in your best condition if you do need to have surgery down the road.  You are lucky that your wife is a nurse.  We are great at researching topics and asking lots of questions.  :-)    My advice is to do your research (but reputable sites only), start making a list of questions for your cardiologist and try to keep your blood pressure down, which is not always easy in this situation.  Many people are living with aneurysms and don't know it.  At least we now know and can take steps to deal with it and hopefully prevent complications.  No one knows what life will bring tomorrow so this is a  reminder to enjoy each day.  Please keep us posted as to what you find out and how you are doing.  There are many of us out there who share your situation.  Keep the faith!

What and how much are you taking?

Thank you for your comments Carol. Very much appreciated. Having a spouse who is a cardio nurse is a significant asset. She has quickly hooked me up with insiders within the Hospital that are helping me deal with this, and my Cardiologist, good friend of mine, is setting up test I need to reaffirm the condition. 

I will hopefully be able to lock down a program soon that will get my head in the game and improve my spirits. Look forward to reporting back to you guys. Have a great day. 

Well, consistent meaning my pulse strength feels normal when I feel along my belly.

If you are concerned, ask your doctor. We cannot really give medical advise. Most of the time AAA and TAA have zero symptoms unless they rupture. Seek medical opinions, and also help with your anxiety, which sounds like a far bigger issue in this instance. 

I was very depressed initially, however after much research and discussing with a number of Cardiologist, as well as a thoracic surgeon, I learned that if I maintain a proper blood pressure, and participate in activities which do not actively cause the size to increase beyond 5.0cm, I can live a long life w/o issues. Currently my AAA is 4.8cm, which via CT Scans, has been this size for approx 9 years, with my strength training and other exercise regime. The size you refer to (4.1 cm) is normally not referenced in the context of a AAA.

I have another CT Scan scheduled for August, so good monitoring is recommended, but otherwise, follow the recommendations of your cardiologist and live your life and enjoy.

Hey Rick, Totally can understand your anxiety and depression, we have all been there. I was diagnosed with aortic root aneurysm about 2 years ago, 4.1 CM. I am 43 years old now and two young kids. Here is what I learned over the past two years

(1) Maintaining your blood pressure is key : surgeons and cardiologist prefer under 120/80 (<115/75 is ideal)

(2) Do not lift heavy weights. I was told by everyone that you really shouldn't lift more than 50 lbs. As someone who likes to workout, this was hard. I used to bench well over 200lbs and squat over 600lbs. The evidence points to your blood pressure reaching well over 200/100 when you lift heavy weight which essentially forces large amounts of blood through your heard at a very high velocity. This is suggested to stretch your ascending aortia and aortic root. Keep to heavy cardio with a pulse no more then 80% of your max HR. (Max HR = 220-age * .80%). So do a lot of spinning, elliptical, walking, etc. Shouldnt do push-ups or even sit ups.

(3) Reduce caffeine and salt from your diet

(4) Two cardiologist said go to a lower carb diet as this has proven to help your heart health. I have done this and lost 10 lbs, feel good

(5) Cardio put me on Losartan which is used for blood pressure control but also has data which points to preventive/slowing down any aortic root diseases.

(6) Reduce cholesterol, no tobacco and should minimize alcohol consumption

For what its worth, I go for yearly MRI/MRA and we have fortunately seen no growth yet..hopefully it doesnt grow.

Happy to answer any questions ....you got this!