Ascending Aortic Aneurysm

New to this group. I went for a Keep the Beat check at the Arkansas Heart Hospital because it was cheap ($75.00) and so am I. They found an ascending aortic aneurysm 4.6cm in size. I went to my family doc today and he is sending me to a thoracic cardiovascular surgeon next Monday. I'm wondering what to expect. Is anyone on here from Arkansas, and can you tell me if there is any benefit in going to a larger facility such as Barnes in Saint Louis, Mo.
A little background. Five years ago I went for a job related physical that included an ECG that showed left ventricular hypertrophy. My doc was unconcerned, he said it looked no different than a previous strip. He did send me for a chest x-ray that was normal. Since I have a family history of abdominal aortic aneurysm I was able to talk him into a vascular scan with ultrasound. Nothing was noted, as a matter of fact I remember the technician saying, "Your aorta is beautiful!" Would this type of test show a TAA? Can this type of enlargement happen over such a short time?

Hi,
First I expect the Dr will order a CT scan or MRI to get a more accurate measurement. While an ultrasound can detect TAA I've read that how well is highly dependent on the skill of the ultrasound technician, and it still probably isn't as accurate as CT or MRI. Aneurysms grow 1+mm per year on average but this can vary widely. Re. travel, if I were you it's something I would consider for surgery, but you could be waiting years to meet the surgical criteria (generally 5.5cm, less if you have other risk factors - quite possible since aneurysms run in your family) and your local Dr. may be able to monitor your aneurysm well enough. If you wanted a second opinion you could probably get that just by sending test results. I think Cleveland Clinic does something like that.

To find a Dr. I went to the US News - top Doctors website. Searching w/i 200 miles of Little Rock finds a few, in Memphis and Tyler, TX:
http://health.usnews.com/top-doctors/search?specialist=Thoracic+and+Cardiac+Surgeons&specialties=074&doctor_gender=&doctor=Name&hospital=Hospital+Name&location=72002&distance=200

Hi - I'm 56 and just diagnosed with my second ascending aortic aneurysm. My first, diagnosed at 5.0 exactly 10 years ago to the month in 2003, was repaired with a graft. Once the surgeon went in, he discovered that the aneurysm was actually closer to 6 cm.  Two weeks ago I had my follow up echo (I'm supposed to be checked every year post-surgery but I haven't gone since 2008 - BAD!) and the echo showed a 4.8 cm aneurysm just below my previous repair - right at the aortic root. The subsequent MRA showed 5. I have an appointment with my same surgeon who did my previous repair this Wednesday. I can't believe this is happening again! I'm young for my age, in above-average physical shape (I ran my first half marathon 6 months after my first aneurysm repair surgery) and I am now being told by my cardiologist to play the waiting game until it gets larger. Seems to me that since I had a previous aneurysm, they would be a little more concerned. Must be because I have HMO insurance now. I'm hoping my surgeon will recommend surgery right away. I am very active and don't want to have to take so many steps backwards physically and play this waiting game. I know myself and if I don't work out regularly, I'll gain weight and feel awful about myself.
So I found this forum and wanted to ask if anyone here has ever had a second aneurysm, or knows anyone who has? I've been trying to research to find out if I am at a higher risk after having had the first one but I can't find anything about having a second aneurysm! Thanks for any insight.

Post Edited (BumHeart) : 5/13/2013 3:43:02 PM (GMT-6)

I saw a surgeon for the first visit on Monday. He's sending me to get an echo and stress test Tuesday. If there are no complications I get to play the waiting game, three months and a ct to see if the aneurysm has grown. We talked about weight lifting, at various times in my life I worked out with free weights several times per week. Nothing at all like the guy in the link AZ Don's post but still quite a bit of weight. My surgeon said there is some evidence that lifting may be a factor in developing aortic aneurysm but there is no way to know. I also had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever about 4-5 years ago and I've never felt like I fully recovered from that. He said there's evidence that diseases like that could trigger an autoimmune reaction that could lead to an aneurysm forming. On top of all that the last four years at work have been the most stressful I have had. I guess I'll never know, and in the end I'm not sure it matters. All I can do now is deal with it.
I did go to my primary doc today and get a prescription for Xanax to take the edge off the stress at work. He told me if the Xanax isn't enough to come back and we'll talk about antidepressants.

Good luck with the surgery next week AZ Don. I went back to reread your first post, and to follow some of the links. I appreciate the effort you've put into finding out about this disease.