Rick (Nevada) on 09/28/2024

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!