Enlarged Aorta
Natural Remedies

Natural Remedies for Enlarged Aorta & Aortic Aneurysm

| Modified on Oct 20, 2025
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Supplements for Enlarged Aorta.

A friend of mine, Avery, who is in his late 60 sixties, had a heart attack just over 4 months ago in late April 2024 and had a single stent placed (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) ) to alleviate the blockage and return normal blood flow to the heart and was simultaneously diagnosed with having a medical condition called an "enlarged aorta" or " aortic aneurysm" (AA) that measured 4.5 cm in diameter. For context, an average AA in a 75-year-old man is said to be 4.1 to 4.2 cm, and for women it is 3.6 to 3.7 cm, as discussed here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5497177/#:~:text=Similar rate of growth is,BSA: 2.35 m2).

Here is a relevant quote from the link:

Normal aorta grows slowly with age. From the Framingham Heart Study (echo sub-study), aorta diameter increases 0.1 cm per 10 years at the aortic root after the age of 25 [22]. Similar rate of growth is also observed for the tubular portion of the ascending aorta [23]. By the age of 75, normal ascending aorta diameter is approximately 3.6–3.7 cm for women (BSA: 1.95 m2) and 4.1–4.2 cm for men (BSA: 2.35 m2).

Given the above quote, it is clear that Avery's AA was quite enlarged beyond that seen in men older than himself. He told me that the men in his family had a history of various forms of heart disease and related complications.

The cardiologist told him about the AA for the first time at the first office visit after the stent was placed. His doctor told him that they spotted the AA because the top of the aorta was visible when they ran the CT scan in the hospital to try and locate the heart blockage. His cardiologist must have thought it might be better not to mention the AA while he was still in the hospital and waited for the first follow up visit instead to let Avery know about it.

His cardiologist said that although the stent had restored blood flow to the heart, the 4.5 cm AA was worrisome for a person of his age of late sixties. His cardiologist also told Avery that they currently have no treatment to shrink an AA, but could do surgery if the AA continued to enlarge and that if the AA got to 5.5 cm, they would have to do the surgery without delay because the potential for rupture would be significantly greater. Rupture of the aorta can result in fairly quick death because the aorta is relatively large and the bleed out would be fairly quick.  He told me that his cardiologist had him schedule another CT scan to see if the whole aorta was enlarged similarly to the upper section of the aorta in order to see if he might need that surgery soon.

Needless to say, my friend was worried. He contacted me once his cardiologist mentioned the AA and asked if I could suggest any supplements that might be beneficial for his aorta. I told him that I could suggest 6 or 7 supplements that might help improve the status of his aorta based on animal studies. These are what I suggested for him, with his cardiologist's approval being required before he could start taking them:

Supplements for an Enlarged Aorta

1. Melatonin Lotion (ML) as discussed here:  https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/topical-melatonin-pain-relief-success-stories.html

Application to abdominal area front and back applied sparingly up to twice a day.

2. Quercetin - 1000 mg/day

3. Berberine - 1500 mg/day in three divided doses of 500 mg each

4. Zinc Sulfate - 50 mg

5. Fish Oil - 3 grams / day - Do not use with blood thinners.

6. Selenium - As L- Selenomethionine at 200 mcg/day

7. Ubiquinol - 800 mg/day

I suggested that he use at least three of the seven supplements and told him that at a minimum they should significantly slow or stop the enlargement of the aorta, but that doctors maintain that shrinkage of an AA is not possible using supplements. I went over each supplement with him and explained how each may be able to help based on study literature and also explained about potential side effects.

Avery chose to use 4 of the 7 supplements: melatonin lotion applied sparingly at least once up to two times a day to the abdomen, quercetin at 1000 mg/day, zinc sulfate at 50 mg/day, and selenium (L-Selenomethionine) at 200 mcg/day.

He chose not to use fish oil because his cardiologist put him on a couple of blood thinners and fish oil also has blood thinning effects. He chose not to use berberine because it requires 3 times per day dosing and he wasn't sure if he would be able to take it on time everyday. He chose not to use Ubiquinol because he decided he just wanted to use four supplements. I told him that if any of the four supplements were problematic for him, he could select a replacement from the remaining 3 supplements.

I told him he would have to get his cardiologist's approval in order to make sure the four supplements would be safe for him and also be compatible with all of his medications. He said he would talk to his cardiologist about whether he could take them or not. He told me later that his cardiologist was very reluctant, but told him he could, but not to exceed the label recommended dosing levels.

He made the melatonin lotion himself as described in the melatonin link above and started on the four supplements as soon as he got them and that was around June 2, 2024. He tolerated the supplements very well with no apparent problems. He had the second CT scan done on August 5th so he was taking his supplement regimen for just over 2 months when he had the second CT scan done. He went to his cardiologist to get his CT scan results on August 29, 2024. At this visit his cardiologist said all of his current tests looked good including the second CT scan. He said the results from the scan of the whole aorta showed that the aorta had reduced in size from the original 4.5 centimeters to 3.8 centimeters! The cardiologist acted as though this was normal and then he told Avery that the reason for the size difference was because the first test was done with an ultrasound/echocardiogram and he said they are not as accurate as a CT scan. Avery reminded the doctor that the first test was done with a CT scan in the hospital and further reminded the doctor that he had said that the CT scan was how they found the AA in the first place. He said the doctor looked perplexed at first then said that he was going to look up the record right then and he confirmed that yes, the first CT scan was how they first found and measured the AA. He said, well this is good! Avery then reminded the cardiologist that he had told him that  AA's don't shrink and the doctor had no answer, but said this is very good! Avery mentioned that he had been taking supplements for the aorta and the doctor looked at him like he was crazy and basically concluded the visit then and said he would schedule another appointment and CT scan to see Avery again in 6 months.

Avery was really happy with these results! Although the reduction in size of the AA from 4.5 cm to 3.8 cm may not seem like much at just a 0.7 cm reduction in aortic diameter, it is very significant for two reasons. One, AAs do not shrink in size on their own and doctors have no medications that can shrink an AA. Two, the following quote from the first study link above said this :

Normal aorta grows slowly with age. From the Framingham Heart Study (echo sub-study), aorta diameter increases 0.1 cm per 10 years at the aortic root after the age of 25.

So the aorta only increases in diameter at the rate of 0.1 cm per 10 years once you reach the age of 25, so this shows exactly how significant a 0.7 cm reduction really is! The fact that Avery was able to significantly reverse the AA direction in just two months is also notable.

The following are links to animal studies that tend to support the use of the supplements that Avery used to try and improve the condition of his aorta:

MELATONIN 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32329099/

Here is a relevant quote from the study :

Melatonin functions as an endogenous protective molecule in multiple vascular diseases, whereas its effects on thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) and underlying mechanisms have not been reported. In this study, TAAD mouse model was successfully induced by β-aminopropionitrile fumarate (BAPN). We found that melatonin treatment remarkably prevented the deterioration of TAAD, evidenced by decreased incidence, ameliorated aneurysmal dilation and vascular stiffness, improved aortic morphology, and inhibited elastin degradation, macrophage infiltration, and matrix metalloproteinase expression. Moreover, melatonin blunted oxidative stress damage and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) loss. Notably, BAPN induced a decrease in SIRT1 expression and activity of mouse aorta, whereas melatonin treatment reversed it. Further mechanistic study demonstrated that blocking SIRT1 signaling partially inhibited these beneficial effects of melatonin on TAAD. Additionally, the melatonin receptor was involved in this phenomenon. Our study is the first to report that melatonin exerts therapeutic effects against TAAD by reducing oxidative stress and VSMC loss via activation of SIRT1 signaling in a receptor-dependent manner, thus suggesting a novel therapeutic strategy for TAAD.

It is worth noting that melatonin lotion can remain active in our systems for 24 hours whereas oral melatonin is only active for about 5 hours. This makes melatonin lotion a better choice than oral melatonin, in my opinion.

QUERCETIN

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7582618/

Here is a relevant quote from the animal study :

In the present study, we suggested that quercetin administration might prevent atherosclerosis-related acute aortic syndromes, such as aortic aneurysm, dissection, and death from rupture, in mice. The preventive effect of quercetin against these conditions was attributable to its anti-inflammatory and endothelial cell-protective effects, which were independent of its blood pressure-lowering effect.

It is worth noting that, like melatonin, quercetin has a multitude of potential positive health effects beyond vascular benefits.

ZINC 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4769024/#:~:text=Chronic inflammation and degradation of,the treatment of the AAA.

Here is a relevant quote from the animal study :

The results showed that zinc supplementation significantly suppressed the CaCl2-induced expansion of the abdominal aortic diameter, as well as a preservation of medial elastin fibers in the aortas. Zinc supplementation also obviously attenuated infiltration of the macrophages and lymphocytes in the aortas. In addition, zinc reduced MMP-2 and MMP-9 production in the aortas. Most importantly, zinc treatment significantly induced A20 expression, along with inhibition of the NF-κB canonical signaling pathway in vitro in VSMCs and in vivo in rat AAA. This study demonstrated, for the first time, that zinc supplementation could prevent the development of rat experimental AAA by induction of A20-mediated inhibition of the NF-κB canonical signaling pathway.

Zinc has shown other heart health protective effects in multiple studies.

SELENIUM

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1078588423008304

This animal study is a little different than the other studies because it shows that selenium deficiency promotes aortic enlargement or dilation. Here is a relevant study quote :

Se deficiency promoted dilatation of the aorta in AA model mice by increasing expression and activity of VSMC derived MMP-2, causing abnormal aggregation and proliferation of VSMCs in aortic media.

This suggests that keeping the selenium level a bit higher may be beneficial for AA preventive effects.

As you can see from the above studies, these four supplements had different methods of action and that often leads to synergy from the combination of supplements. Judging by the relatively quick and significant results that Avery had, it seems as though there may have been synergy involved.

So this is the regimen that Avery used to very significantly shrink his aortic aneurysm /enlarged aorta down to a more normal size in just two months. It is worth mentioning that these 4 supplements not only shrunk Avery's aorta, but they also are purported to help contribute to improving the integrity of the aorta itself, based on information within the studies linked to above. Both points are important in trying to deal with an AA. All seven supplements have very good safety profiles.

Avery said he plans to continue taking the four supplements because his cardiologist suggested that 3.5 cm would be a very good number to have. He said he will update me as he knows more, but his next appointment is 6 months away and he likely won't have any new information until then.

Art


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The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.

Aortic Aneurysm Remedies


Posted by Earth Clinic on 09/01/2024
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Don't miss Art's new article on how supplements helped his friend reduce an enlarged aorta in just 2 months following a heart attack in April.

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/enlarged-aorta-aortic-aneurysm.html


Ascending Aortic Aneurysm

Posted by Rick (Nevada) on 09/28/2024

Ascending Aortic Aneurysm

Hello Art,

I am an otherwise healthy white male, age 64,6 foot tall 178lbs. Workout twice a week. Always low blood pressure, under 110/76. LDL cholesterol 150. I was born with a strong heart murmur / mitral valve prolapse. It always shocked doctors who first heard it but it never slowed me down. No family history of heart disease. I recently had a CT scan for calcium scoring of arteries. Two of the four scanned scored zero. One scored 11.7 and one scored 49.4 for a total of 61.1. Not a bad score for my age but the problem is that the head of my ascending aorta was measured at 6.2cm. Clearly higher than a safe number under 4cm. Cardiologists want to move forward right away with surgery and I am inclined to agree. But my questions for you are: Have you ever heard of a heart murmur as the cause of an artery aneurism? Is it possible my artery is more elastic and 6.2 cm is not the danger it seems? I know you cannot give medical advice but your general opinion on my situation is highly appreciated. Thank you!

Replied by Art
(California)
09/29/2024
2715 posts

I have heard about AA and heart murmur occurring simultaneously, but I don't know about cause and effect.

Age above 65, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking are four common causes for aortic aneurysm, but there are other causes also. Your LDL cholesterol is higher at 150. Healthy would be below 100. Your cardiologist can discuss this with you.

My friend's doctor told him that they will usually attempt surgery at 5.5 cm or higher. Sounds like your doctor/cardiologist is giving you good advice since you are at 6.2 cm already.

Art


Q&A


Posted by Vaibhav (California) on 06/09/2025
★★★★★

Did your friend did another 6 month CT scan and his results are stable or more encouraging?

Replied by Art
(California)
06/09/2025
2715 posts

Hi Vaibhav,

I talked to Avery and he said he is scheduled for another CT scan in September for his aortic aneurysm. If he gives me those results then, I will post them.

Art

Replied by Vaibhav
(California)
06/15/2025

Hi Art

I am 40 yr old and my aneurysm is around 5.45, I want to try some of the remedies you informed if it can make my aneurysm stable or decrease in size. What you will recommend me?

Art
(California)
06/16/2025
2715 posts

Hi Vaibhav, I am not a doctor so I can not tell you what to do for your aortic aneurysm. I reported Avery's significant results with him using the specific supplements that he described here : Https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/enlarged-aorta-aortic-aneurysm.html It would be a good idea, if you have high blood pressure, to get it into the normal range. If you smoke it would be very good to stop smoking as both smoking and high blood pressure are significant contributing factors to aortic aneurysm. Art

AManda
(Florida)
07/24/2025

HI Art,

My husband has been diagnosed with ascending AA at 4.2. They want to watch him for a year on blood pressure meds, beta blockers and blood thinners. He also has current AFIB. Any know interactions with AFIB as well? I have ordered 5 of the supplements to have him start. Also, is your friend still on them or was there a timeframe of the treatment? I see oral melatonin says 10MG for 6 months only at a time.

Art
(California)
07/24/2025
2715 posts

Hi AManda,

Since your husband also has AFib, his doctor will have to approve any supplements he takes to be sure that they will be compatible with all of his meds.

You might also be interested in a recent post I made regarding AFib here :

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/atrial-fibrillation3.html#mgmo

The above will also require his doctor's approval even though it is a topical application.

Avery is going to get retested in August or September if I remember correctly and hopefully I can share those results here.

Art

Jay
(Boston)
08/17/2025

Thanks, Art for the superb research you do. How can I do this caliber of research? Once I select an ailment to solve using the internet, what steps do I take to locate good studies and information? Thanks!

Amanda
(Florida)
10/17/2025

Hi art! Any update on your friends scans?

Artr
(California)
08/17/2025
2715 posts

Hi Jay,

That is a question I have not given much thought to before now. I've been doing this for so many years, it is like second nature to me. I will have to give that some thought, but I can say that a lot of information or clues are in my mind after many years of reading studies and researching. I have that basic knowledge already in my head and use that to try and help me focus on where to look for answers and solutions. That probably doesn't help you much, but that is basically how I research. I seem to retain certain things that I read and that helps me to know where and how to look for what I want to know.

Art

Jay
((Boston))
10/16/2025

I see, Art, thanks. Have you used any particular AI platform(s) to obtain non-pharmaceutical/alternative solutions to health issues?

Any thoughts on how to use AI for health sleuthing?

Thanks

Art
(California)
10/16/2025
2715 posts

Hi Jay,

AI seems to have improved over the past two years, but it is not bullet proof by any stretch of the imagination.

Currently, AI generated research still requires that you research (fact check) everything that it comes up with because they are not always accurate, so I still have to do my own research. What I do find AI useful for is organizing my research into a much more understandable and organized format that is well beyond my capabilities.

AI is a highly competitive and rapidly growing industry with so many players now, it is almost ridiculous. The highly competitive atmosphere, in my opinion, is making programmers do things that may not be the best for research in general and at this point the individual AI platforms seem to only be as good as their programmer makes it.

There is a tremendous amount of variability from one AI to another. As an example of two big ones, in my opinion, Google AI and Chat GPT, Google seems to be over cautious in the information it gives and seems to lean away from stretching the known science to its limits, while Chat GPT seems more willing push the envelope a bit. Both methods have their drawbacks and the highly competitive AI market throws another wrench in the works.

Bottomline is that I am still doing my own research and using AI for its organizational skills, rather than research skills.

Art

Art
(California)
10/18/2025
2715 posts

Hi Amanda,

Yes, Avery went for another CT scan very recently and his current number is 4.0. Originally it was 4.5 and then it went down to 3.8 and is now 4.0, which is fairly close to what would be expected at his age.

When I talked to Avery about it, he said he was still taking the zinc, selenium and quercetin, but he had stopped using the melatonin lotion(ML) twice a day and was only using it irregularly. He said he will go back to applying it twice a day again.

Apparently the ML is one of the more potent components of this regimen.

The following animal research abstract tends to confirm that idea :

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32329099/

Here is a very relevant quote from the abstract :

' Melatonin functions as an endogenous protective molecule in multiple vascular diseases, whereas its effects on thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) and underlying mechanisms have not been reported. In this study, TAAD mouse model was successfully induced by β-aminopropionitrile fumarate (BAPN). We found that melatonin treatment remarkably prevented the deterioration of TAAD, evidenced by decreased incidence, ameliorated aneurysmal dilation and vascular stiffness, improved aortic morphology, and inhibited elastin degradation, macrophage infiltration, and matrix metalloproteinase expression. Moreover, melatonin blunted oxidative stress damage and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) loss. Notably, BAPN induced a decrease in SIRT1 expression and activity of mouse aorta, whereas melatonin treatment reversed it. Further mechanistic study demonstrated that blocking SIRT1 signaling partially inhibited these beneficial effects of melatonin on TAAD. Additionally, the melatonin receptor was involved in this phenomenon. Our study is the first to report that melatonin exerts therapeutic effects against TAAD by reducing oxidative stress and VSMC loss via activation of SIRT1 signaling in a receptor-dependent manner, thus suggesting a novel therapeutic strategy for TAAD. '

The above mouse study clearly suggests that melatonin is quite useful for thoracic aortic aneurysm in a mouse model and Avery's results that the benefit may also apply to humans, but a human study is required to confirm this. Such a study is definitely warranted because cardiologist seem to agree that they can not shrink an aortic aneurysm without surgery and of course there is significant risk involved with that surgery.

So based solely on Avery's experience, he seems to have responded fairly well to this regimen and especially to the topical application of melatonin lotion over his aorta area on his front and back twice a day applied sparingly.

Art

Amanda
(Florida)
10/19/2025

Can you use oral melatonin?

Amanda
(Fl)
10/19/2025

And where do you get the cream?

Art
(California)
10/19/2025
2715 posts

Hi Amanda,

I will answer both your questions in this reply.

Where do you get the cream?

You have to make it yourself as I have not found a commercial cream that is as strong yet and I describe how to make it in the following post :

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/melatonin-lotion.html

Can you use oral melatonin?

You can use oral melatonin also, but I don't think it will be strong enough or last long enough by itself. The melatonin lotion is needed to last long enough and reach high enough local tissue levels to be more effective than just oral melatonin.

Art

Amanda
(Fl)
10/19/2025

Am concerned about the Gin. May be a stupid question but does it put alcohol in their system?
and does it matter the brand of gin?

Art
(California)
10/19/2025
2715 posts

Hi Amanda,

If you were to apply straight gin to the skin it would have a drying effect and act as a moderate irritant. When diluted with the lotion on a two parts lotion to one part gin basis along with the dissolved melatonin, the botanicals that the gin is made from have potential to offer benefits of their own while the melatonin has proven skin protective effects and the lotion prevents the skin drying potential of the gin.

It might be worthwhile for you to read all of the replies to the original post to get a better idea of what people have experienced from using melatonin lotion and any side effects they may have experienced, and then decide if you think it is worth testing.

Art

Art
(California)
10/19/2025
2715 posts

Hi Amanda,

To answer your questions, if the alcohol can enter the system it is a very small amount incapable of causing intoxication with most of the alcohol evaporating upon application of the lotion. The gin is used to dissolve the melatonin powder.

I just use the house brand gin that I get at Costco in a large bottle.

Art



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