Aortic Aneurysm - Losartan study on mice shown to reverse size of aneurysms???

[Shidaddy]

Hi. I have two questions:

1) Do I need surgery soon?

I have recently been diagnosed with an aneurysm of my aortic root of 4.8cm and also my ascending aorta of 4.9cm. My aortic valve is trileaflet and still in good shape. My ascending aorta is 1.9 x the diameter of my descending aorta.

- I'm a 41 year old male
- 6'2" and 210 Lbs.
- I'm athletic (or I was before my diagnois)
- I do NOT have marfans syndrome, but apparently a connective tissue disorder.
- I have a history of "massive heart attacks" on my mothers side (no autopsies were done)
- I feel fine. If it wasn't for the CT scan findings I would not realize there is an issue.


2) Cozaar/Losartan: Is there a chance that I can avoid surgery by taking Cozaar. If so, how much should I take each day?

I just read about a study on mice with marfan syndrome. Apparently, their aneurismal aorta

[nickppatel]

Hi shidaddy,

You and I are in somewhat similar situations. I'm 6'1", 190 lbs, used to be athletic before my diagnosis, not quite Marfan but some type of milder connective tissue problem, 3.8 cm aortic root, tricuspid aortic valve (we are fortunate that we do not have bicuspids!). Kind of throws a cramp in your style, doesn't it?

I came back from my cardiologist appt 6 months back with some more aortic growth, as usual. I was disappointed and said a prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ - and a day or two later, I got an email from the National Marfan Foundation regarding the losartan studies. Wow, what a direct answer.

I called my doc up and he prescribed me not Losartan but valsartan, which is a similar drug. He put me on a very light dose (80 mg/day), about half of what someone my body size would be taking in Dr. Dietz' study on adolescents this fall.

Fast forward 6 months - I had my follow-up echo last Monday. Thank the Lord - no growth. All my numbers were "identical to last time," according to my cardio. That is unusual because my aorta had been growing up until then. We cranked up the dosage to 160mg/day, which is more in line with what someone my size should be taking. I'm praying that at my next echo, the aorta will have shrunk. Who knows? I'm just happy for now.

I've spoken with other people taking losartan, and they also have stabilized their aortic roots. One lady I know was taking a pretty high dosage (300 mg of Avapro/irbesartan per day, the max you should take for that drug) and her aorta shrunk from 4.2 cm to 3.7 cm over a 6-mo. period.

None of that answers your question directly, but there is indirect, un-official basis for having a lot of hope for these studies. Talk to your cardiologist and see if he or she will prescribe some for you at a *HIGH* dosage. You're almost at the threshold for surgery, so tread carefully. I'll pray you experience the same kind of (seeming) success as me, if not better!