Mended Hearts Open Forum

Well, I kind of dropped the ball on keeping updated w this group. My apologies.  Will try to do better
I finally had my 2nd echo in 15mos. 
the init radiology reading showed all stayed same.  However, met w cardiologist this morn and he did his own measurement and says that it's grown a bit from 4.2(?) to 4.8.  Eeep!!!!

event tho my Bp is considered "normal" he upped my dose of my one med to to bring it a little lower and described a statin even tho my cholesterol is normal tho my HDL is very low and Triglycerides just above the high norm.  He said this would be benificial for my heart and some light reading in internet by me shows that statins can slow progression of dilation  I'm in decent shape  have 5 days of cardio a week plus bike ride a ton in "good" weather

does this (new meds) all sound correct to everyone out there?

Still kinda freaked out abt poss aortic replacement being in my future.  Can always use some warm fuzzies from anyone who has been thru that 

oh almost forgot, considering getting a 2nd opinion. Anyone else do that

Hi Scotty, 

I have been living well with a dilated aortic root along with a bicuspid aortic valve for the past 19 years. Started out at 4.2 cm and now is 4.6. I also take a statin. I went for a second cardiology opinion at Cleveland Clinic and it was the best thing I ever did. I follow there exclusively for this. Local cardiologist could never seem to get a consistent measurement of the root. I was told that I will need aortic replacement once root reaches 5.2 cm. I'm 6'1 and 210 lbs and surgical threshold is based on body size I'm told. There are also BP and heart rate parameters that are followed as well. I was told not to lift more than 50 lbs. I think 2nd opinions are very important for these problems. I was also freaked out about the thought of aortic replacement and seeing posts on this forum from people who have been through that with a positive outcome were  a great morale booster for me. I'm not tech savvy on how to find those posts, but maybe someone else can chime in on how to do that. Hope this helps, and I wish you well!