Aortic Root

[carol2000]

My Aortic Root measures 3.7 cm. Is that something to worry about like an anueryism?

[kenkeith]

Thanks for your input and some insight.

There is some help to indentify an enlarged aorta for individuals:  Identifying dilation of the aorta implies the ability to determine the aorta's normal size for an individual. As noted the aorta's size will vary across any given population based on age, gender and body size.

And it is understood there are broad ranges of aortic diameters sometimes listed as the normal size of the aorta spans a large variation of body sizes in the population and may be misleading regarding a given individual. It is important that every effort is made to determine the normal aortic diameter for each individual in order to detect the early stages of aortic expansion due to underlying aortic disease. Generally, in the majority of patients that part of the aorta that is not enlarged may be used as an indicator of what is normal for that individual. That can help put the matter into perspective.

[nickppatel]

Hi Ken,

You ask some good questions.  This isn't an exact science, and there appears to be much confusion in cardiology about what is a "normal" aortic size.  Papers published by aortic experts sometimes don't get much traction in mainstream cardiology practice.  I don't believe that there is any conversion table available that will take all the salient factors and spit out a "normal" size - it's more of a guessing game than that, I think.  

You're right, the 2.0-3.7 reference range generally accounts for variations, but often, professionals don't seem to take those variations into account!  A 5-foot 100lb teenage girl should not have a 3.7cm aortic root, just as you would not expect our British powerlifter (in the other thread) to have a 2.0cm aortic root.  Some experts have suggested that even a 4.0cm+ can be "normal" for some people, PERHAPS like the British powerlifter.  I've spent years studying aortic size (informally) and I feel like I have a rough handle on approximate "normal" aortic sizes.

I know that there are charts out there that associate Body Surface Area (BSA) with aortic root size by age.  Other charts do it by activity level, gender, etc.  I don't have them handy, but you can probably find them on Google using some clever searches, or if you search scholarly papers.

[kenkeith]

What you say is correct, there are  variations with individuals based on the characteristics you site.  But the reference data provides a normal range of 2.0 to 3.7; wouldn't that range take into consideration the variation of the charcteristics?  For instance a women would more likely be in the lower normal range, etc  You ask for information regarding personal characteristics, do you have a conversion table that modifies the range based on personal characteristics?  

[nickppatel]

...and, of course, your age.  How old are you?

[nickppatel]

Carol,

What is and is not a "normal" aortic size depends on your gender, height and weight.  I assume you are female, but what are your height and weight?

[kenkeith]

Carol, your aorta root size is in the upper normal level.  If your aorta root size gets to 4.0 cm, it is medically referred to as anueryism.  And if it is growing fast and reaches 5.0cm, the doctor and you may start considering intervention to prevent a rupture.  No need to worry because the size is normal..