Her out-of-control blood pressure helped save her life .
Jennifer Callihan had no idea she had an aortic aneurysm . Let alone that it measured 4.8 centimeters . It was discovered when she was in recovery from knee surgery and experiencing a dangerously wide difference between her systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels . She had a history of high blood pressure , but had been managing it so well with diet and exercise that she ’ d stopped taking her blood pressure medication . This was something new altogether . So she had an echocardiogram , indicating a leaky heart valve , and a CT angiogram , which showed an enlargement in her aorta . That ’ s when she went to see Dr . David Buchanan at Wexford .
“ The first thing I did was order a cardiac MRI to better evaluate the anatomy of her heart ,” said Dr . Buchanan . “ We were concerned it might be a congenital valve problem . Fortunately , we found that wasn ’ t the case , which allowed us to focus on getting her blood pressure under control .” Dr . Buchanan also performed a transesophageal echocardiogram ( TEE ), which provides highly detailed images of the heart and its internal structures . “ It ’ s a procedure we do here that lets us quantify the degree of aortic valve regurgitation , or leakage , and determine how well her heart is pumping .”
He put Jennifer on multiple medications , including a beta blocker , and they discussed lifestyle changes such as reducing salt and upping exercise . “ Dr . Buchanan was very helpful ,” Jennifer said . “ He took extra time to walk me through everything , answering all my questions as realistically as possible , telling me about what could be going on and the testing we needed to do to figure things out .”
Dr . Buchanan also referred her to Dr . Masaki Tsukashita , a cardiac surgeon at AHN ’ s Aortic Disease Clinic . The plan for now is watchful waiting and monitoring the size of her aortic aneurysm and severity of the valve leak with yearly CT angiogram and echocardiograms , and regular exams with both doctors . In the meantime , Jennifer follows Dr . Buchanan ’ s recommendations to a tee — monitoring her blood pressure twice a day at home , keeping a journal of her numbers , adhering to a low-sodium diet , and not lifting anything over 40 pounds . “ I ’ m doing everything I can to stay ahead of it and prevent it from getting worse ,” she said . Jennifer had her choice of cardiologists , but she ’ s glad she went with AHN . “ The medical equipment is top of the line , as are the testing capabilities ,” she said . “ I feel like they ’ ll definitely be able to address my needs moving forward . Everyone does such a nice job .”
ACCORDING TO THE CDC ’ S MOST RECENT STATISTICS , AORTIC ANEURYSMS WERE THE MAIN CAUSE OF NEARLY
10,000 DEATHS
IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2018 .
Source : The American Heart Association heart . org / en / health-topics / aortic-aneurysm / your-aorta-the-pulse-of-life