enlarged aorta with aneurism

[mab_07]

I am a 62 year old female and have been diagnosed with an enlarged aorta with an aneurism. and have been told I will need a heart graft. What does this all consist of and should i be worrying seriously  about a heart attack or the aneurism bursting?

[kenkeith]

When an enlargement of the aorta root exceeds 4.0 cm it is considered an aneursym.. When the size increases to >5.0 cm, surgery begins to be an option. men, surgery is typically recommended for abdominal aortic aneurysms that are causing symptoms or that are 5.5 cm or larger in diameter. In women, surgery may be recommended for smaller aneurysms. Some doctors perform surgery when the aneurysm is smaller, although the risk of rupture is considered low for aneurysms less than 5.5 cm in diameter.

Surgery is also recommended for small aneurysms that have grown more than .5 cm within 6 months. Assuming the above information has been considered before deciding on surgery.

If a graft is considered, your doctor will make a large cut in your chest or belly. Then, your aneurysm will be removed and the damaged portion of your blood vessel will be replaced with a man-made graft.

A less invasive procedure would be repair.  Some aortic aneurysms can be repaired without traditional surgery, using endovascular aortic repair. A tube called a stent graft is inserted through an artery in the groin. The stent graft makes a bridge between the healthy parts of the aorta (above and below the aneurysm). Although this procedure works well right away, experts do not know enough about its long-term effects. Because of this, you will need regular X-rays or CT scans for as long as you have the graft.