AORTIC ANEURYSM

Posted By HLA on January 07, 1999 at 21:44:03:







I'm a 47 year old male. I had open-heart surgery in 1971 to correct Tetrology of Fallot. I began having problems with ventricular tachycardia in 1984 because of scar tissue from surgery. (Only a few episodes in 13 years.) Nine months ago after an ablation procedure failed to correct the problem, I had a defibrillator implanted. During a routine defibrillator check-up my blood-pressure was high (I've never had high blood-pressure), so the cardiologist scheduled an echocardiogram. This showed an enlargement of the ascending aorta. A subsequent CT scan showed the aneurysm at 6.5 cm. I'm scheduled for a catheterization next week to determine what shape the valve is in. The Dr. is recommending surgery to prevent rupture. I have several questions:  1) Is there any connection between the aneurysm/high blood-pressure and the defibrillator? Could the ICD have caused the aneurysm?  2) Is there any way to determine what caused the aneurysm? (It's not Marfan's.) The cardiologist thinks it may be caused by a hereditary condition even though theres no hypertension in my family history.  I have 2 sons - aged 10 and 12, and am concerned about whether or not they may have inherited a predisposition to this type of aneurysm. 3) What should I do to monitor the children? 4) Are there any alternatives to surgery?  5) How much more am I at risk for problems during/after surgery because of the previous TOF repair, and  the defibrillator?  Should I search for a surgeon that has experience with this same situation? Thank you for any advice or insight you can give me.