Hi folks! A very fit Benjamin Carey, father of two and one on the way, at the ripe old age of 37, was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm in 2009. This aneurysm was not quite so big as mine at the time of diagnosis (men will compete about anything!), but it was in a much more difficult place to treat, the ascending aorta close to the heart. Interestingly, in spite of our 30 year age difference, in many respects his ... Read more
Genetic Testing For Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm? Becoming Promising!
Hi Folks! If you have AAA in your family should you carry out genetic testing to assess such a risk for your children? This is an interesting and complex issue. There are testing programs available. For instance, the Berkeley HeartLab provides information on screening for "sequence variants within the 9p21 locus of chromosome 9," along with information on its relevance to AAA. There is clearly a need for continued ... Read more
Intra-Abdominal Pressure, Anti-Shock Garments (and exercises?), Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, And Arterial Blood Pressure Regulation
Hi! Folks, I woke up yesterday thinking about intra-abdominal pressure, and how little I knew about it. When it comes to abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), pressure is really what it is all about. If the blood pressure in the abdomen was the same as the pressure in the distal aorta, then AAAs would probably never form, or at least they would burst less frequently or later in their life span. But if this were the ... Read more
The Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Quiz
Hi! Folks, Please pass this AAA quiz along to people you know, as it might just be important for you or someone that you know. It was only through self-awareness and some luck that I found my AAA, and now I have my stent and I am back in training as opposed to dead (I hate it when that happens!). If you run this little quiz you get a report of your estimated risk: My risk was fairly low, considering, but my ... Read more
Training For Older People With or Without an AAA-Stent
Hi folks, Apparently, abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) of the type I have, distal to the renal arteries extending down to the aortic bifurcation, are more common in men and the average age of detection is my age, 67 years (read this somewhere!), which I guess qualifies as 'older!.' As I am interested in finding safe ways to continue my training for Ironman distance triathlons, I started to investigate ... Read more
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