Sue's Profile

In 2012, the ascending aortic aneurysm was coincidentally picked up from a mammogram MRI. It was 4.0 cm at that time and have been getting echo cardiograms every year for follow ups. Fast forward to March 2018, echo showed size increase to 4.5 cm and cardiologist gave me the dreaded talk "it is time to consider elective surgery". Unfortunately aneurysm extends into the aortic arch. I have no symptoms. Was told that since aneurysms are silent killers, and once pain begins abruptly, it becomes an emergency crisis with bad outcomes. I am small at 5 feet tall and the 4.5 cm size puts me into the danger zone. Fortunately, all my valves are ok and the aortic valve is normal trileaflet. I am very worried about surgery since I have other issues which may put me at a higher risk for OHS. I have Sjogrens Syndrome, whereby your immune system attacks parts of your body by mistake, specifically the glands that make tears and saliva thus causing extreme dry eyes and dry mouth. It also affects connective tissues, joints, muscles and cause fatigue. Also allergic to Iodine x-ray contrast dye media. Will get heart cath in a couple of weeks. A grave concern is my sensitivity to antibiotics producing bad yeast infections, which in itself takes 4-6 weeks to resolve. I am desperately reaching out to this community for any experiences similar to my medical issues along with OHS. I am usually an outgoing bubbly type person, but now fear and anxiety have taken over me with brain fog.