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Heart Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
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Subject: Re: Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm My 86 year old mother in law has been diagnosed with a 5 cm thoracic aortic aneurysm that we are told is tearing. She apparently had a mild stroke recently as evidenced by her slurring of speech and some lack of facial muscle control on the left side. In the past she has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and she is currently taking 5mg vasotec and .125 digoxin. We don't feel that she would survive an operation. Are there any options? Thanks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Bill You concern is appropriate. There is a good chance that your mother-in-law would suffer death or a major complication such as stroke from surgery. Without surgery, however, if she truly does have a tearing aneurysm of the thoracic aorta which also lead to a stroke, her prognosis is terrible. I would strongly recommend that she be evaluated at an experienced cardiac surgery center for this challenging surgery. I hope this has been useful. Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck. Information provided here is of a general nature. Specific diagnoses and treatments can only be made by your doctor. If you would like to be seen at the Cleveland Clinic, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE for an appointment with a cardiologist at Desk F15.
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