How do you deal with an ascending aortic aneurysm? to operate or not to operate?

Operate: If it is truly an ascending aneurysm, it is life threatening and needs an operation. Type b or descending aneurysms in the thorax can many times be managed with blood pressure control but not type a. Type a can cause heart attack and strokes or rupture.

Aortic Aneurysms: Ascending aortic aneurysms require an operation if they have reached a certain size, usually around 5.5 cm, or if they have caused leaking of the aortic valve. Consult with a cardiac surgeon to discuss further. Dr. Sinha is discussing aortic dissections which require emergency surgery because of an extremely high mortality (classically 1% per hour) when classified as type a.