I went to my doctor and had some chest pain. He did an angiogram and told me that i have an aneurysm in my left descending artery. He told me that I needed to lose more weight this year than last. Last year I lost 32 pounds. I told him I have improved my walking and plan to walk more this year. He said don’t be running any marathons but that I could return to regular activities. I am now on plavix, a baby aspirin a day and have nitrostat for any angina pain I may experience.
He did not tell me about any precautions. Can anyone help?
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I am concerned that either your physician did not explain to you properly what is wrong or that the physician has not responded to this problem correctly. An aneurysm of the left anterior descending artery of the heart is very serious and must be corrected either by placement of a stent or bypass surgery. Losing weight has nothing to do with the aneurysm. Activity has nothing to do with the aneurysm although excessive activity could cause the aneurysm to bleed or rupture which could prove fatal. Clopidogrel and aspirin are an attempt to prevent blood clotting by they are NOT the proper treatment for an aneurysm of a coronary artery. Thus either the physician did not explain the coronary anatomy properly or the physician is not treating it properly. I would strongly encourage you to resolve this one way or the other. This is a potentially life-threatening condition. If I may be of further assistance please email me additional information at johnerussomd@jhu.edu. I wish you the very best of health and may God Bless.
Well, your doctor seems to have made some mistake. If you have a descending thoracic aneurysm, with physical activity, it will most likely burst leading to a quick death unless treated immediately. Stay away from heavy lifting. Taking an aspirin along with a descending thoracic aneurysm will also make your blood too thin and will also lead to a quick death if it bursts. It is good that he gave you a blood pressure lowering medication though. Ask your doctor about getting an endovascular graft put in to stop the ballooning of your aorta. Trust me on this, It will give you an aortic dissection and a possible leak or rupture of your aorta. Be safe and make sure to get yourself checked out for this if you feel that your pain has gotten more severe or if your pain doesn’t respond to the nitrostat.