Wellness

[pupwhipped]

My MIL had an aortic dissection and lived to tell about it.... she went through h*ll to get there, though. 

[Bubbles219]

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@Laura14 wrote:

Good for you @SeaMaiden .  I think this is what killed John Ritter and Alan Thicke.  

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I believe it is also what killed Lucille Ball.  My Mom survived a double aortic dissection. Well, she actually flatlined on the table but they resuscitated her.   My family was blessed with seven more years with her but she was never the same.  Not so sure Mom considered it a blessing ...Sorry, I know it's a bit off topic ~ yesterday was her birthday and though it's been almost three and one half years since she passed, it feels like yesterday and forever at the same time.  Hope that makes sense...

[SilleeMee]

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@Laura14 wrote:

Just FYI, aneurysm and dissection are two separate issues. 

Dissection is a tearing of the aorta while an aneurysm is a bulge in the aorta that can and will eventually burst.  

Aneurysms are most often due to high blood pressure.  My grandfather died of that. 

Both not good to have and have low survival rates if not caught before the tear or burst.  

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Many aneurysms happen because of dissection and vice versa.

A dissecting aortic aneurysm...one of the hospital ER's worst nightmare.

[hckynut]

My longest time friend had his Aortic Valve replaced with pig skin when he was 80 years old. Always a fitness guy, he knew something wasn't right with his body. He was diagnosed with A-fib and was on meds to help with that.  In follow up procedures, his malfunctioning Aortic Valve was found.

 His recovery from this open heart surgery took the best part of 4 weeks. He was back ice skating'  6 weeks later. He now is 82 and neither his age nor this surgery has slowed him.

I suggest for those that have a genetic predisposition to talk with your doctor, and possibly a Cardiologist, about what steps should be taken. This is a very dangerous situation and should be treated as such.

hckynut

[FranandZoe]

John Ritter died from aortic dissection not an aneurism.  His brother got checked for it and had surgery to repair it saving his life.

[Ibby114]

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@Laura14 wrote:

Good for you @SeaMaiden .  I think this is what killed John Ritter and Alan Thicke.  

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@Laura14  @SeaMaiden  Lucille Ball too.

Bill Paxton was in surgery to correct what could have caused his dissection, something with the valves. But he passed away from a stroke during the procedure.

[SeaMaiden]

This is something rarely brought to anyone's' attention,  but really quite prevalent as far as people affected.  Wonder why it is rarely discussed?  Perhaps the insurance companies do not want to pay for testing......hush hush....

[hckynut]

@SeaMaiden 

Like I mentioned in another thread, DVT was something most knew nothing about. This was even several TV newscasts told of what happened to some prominent people, causing their deaths.

I knew about it since 2002 with my first bout with Pulmonary Embolism. My Pulmonologist explained in detail DVT, which many times lead to deaths from PE.  I actually think, contrary to the poster that talked about too many Meds being advertised on TV commercials, that many learned about DVT because of them.

How many here had heard much about Esophageal Cancer back in the 1980's? I knew about it then because my late brother-in-law had it. That is what led me to my very 1st Endoscopy, which probably saved me from the same fate.

• I could list many more examples and, in my view, had/has nothing to do with the Medical Health Insurance Industry.

hckynut

[Shelbelle]

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@FranandZoe wrote:

John Ritter died from aortic dissection not an aneurism.  His brother got checked for it and had surgery to repair it saving his life.

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I recently saw Ritter's bio on the Reelz Channel it was an aortic aneurysm that  actually killed him, same as his father. His bro was checked and also had the anuerysm. His was repaired before it dissected.  A preexisting aneurysm is mostly what caused the dissection, it can happen that way. They inherited the aneurysm condition from their father.

[sfnative]

@SeaMaiden 

Unfortunately, the symptoms contained within the large post fail to indicate to the reader that these occur at the time of the dissection, yes, but will most likely result in a fatal outcome.  Bleed-out occurs before most are able to reach an E.R. for a thoracotomy and emergent tx prior to surgery.