Bicuspid Valve - Aneurysms Elsewhere?

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Agian

Agian

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Messages
2,340
Location
Adelaide, South Australia
Just a question. We know Bicuspid Valves are associated with Ascending Aortic Aneurysms. Are they associated with aneurysms elsewhere? What have people's doctors/cardiologists/surgeons told them?
 
I had an abdominal aneurysm and bicuspid valve. I was on Losartan for 2 years now they can't find an
aneurysm at all. I was told that can be a connective tissue disorder.
 
Yes,it has gone.losartan is used in Marfan Syndrome and people with connective tissue disorders. I had BAV and abdominal aortic aneurysm.Last year it was a 3. Echo tech could not see it in May,VASCULAR SURGEON could not see it at all on my MRI in June. I do not miss it at all.I will have ARV in the fall.I am looking at surgeons at MASS GENERAL.Look it up on the net,losartan potassium 50mg twice a day. I take for HBP.There is a lot of material on it with Marfans and in mouse models.Maybe I am part mouse???
 
This has been used
for a long time.Some Docs think BAV has a lot of many of the same thing going on as Marfans. There is a Doctor in Baltimore,maybe at John Hopkins that has done research on this.
 
I doubt BAV has a close relationship to Marfan's but that doesn't mean it won't work. I'll raise it with my cardiologist. I'm taking BP meds anyway.
 
Agian said:
Just a question. We know Bicuspid Valves are associated with Ascending Aortic Aneurysms. Are they associated with aneurysms elsewhere? What have people's doctors/cardiologists/surgeons told them?
Click to expand...
If you haven't already found it, check out the following article in the journal "Neurology" (Vol 74, issue 18, Schievink et al):
"Screening for intracranial aneurysms in patients with bicuspid aortic valve".
It was a small study, but they found a substantial increase in percentage of BAV patients versus control population (which actually had higher incidence of known risk factors).
 
You can also find article on this site. Put aortic aneurysm in search and you will get articles about Hal Dietz MD John Hopkins hospital.
 
I had to have a CT scan to look for a possible abdominal aneurysm because of my BAV and ascending aortic aneurysm. Luckily none was found. Like Carol, I've been on Losartan and that keeps BP low and less chance of a bulge.
 
Here's an article about the work that Harry Dietz is doing:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110414141402.htm

What is most interesting to me is not only is there evidence that Losartan may stop, slow (or even reverse!) progression of aortic aneurysm in those with Marfan's, but the weakness in the aortic wall of those with BAV has been described as similar to those with Marfan's, and so it is speculated that those with BAV may benefit in a similar manner. In googling Losartan and BAV, I find there are some current studies looking into this right now.
 
Incredible! So happy for you on this outcome. Gives me even more reason to have hope. I take losartan potassium 50 mg once a day, not twice, for high blood pressure. I have an ascending aortic aneurysm. I'd dance an irish jig if my aneurysm goes away on its own. Will mention this to the cardiologist at my next follow up and let everyone know what he says.
 
Agian.....I had this same thought. I was concerned with brain aneurysms forming. Because if bad connective tissue can cause aneurysms in the heart, you have to ask the question of whether or not it can cause them to form in other places. I posed this question to my cardiologist. His answer was "No". He said the gene that codes for the connective tissue in the heart is different than the gene that codes for the connective tissue in the brain and other areas of the body. So any defect in the heart area is the result of an anomaly in the heart-specific gene. Hope this helps you.
 
I've got my hands on some Losartan and will start this weekend. My BP has dropped on the Atenolol and I don't want it to drop further. So, I'm going to stop the Atenolol and try to push the dose of the Losartan to 50mg twice daily (this is what they suggest). My heart rate will probably go back up (90-100 is normal for me). If my BP is stable, I might add 25mg of Atenolol later on, to get my HR down to 80ish. I'm resigned to having OHS and a dacron graft, but I'm curious to to see what happens. It would be great if I can tell people that this works.

PS, I asked cardiologist number 3 about brain aneurysms. He told me that BAV is associated with coarctation (a narrowing of the aorta) and it is THIS that is associated with brain aneurysms, not the BAV per se. The study on brain aneurysms and BAV seems to underestimate the prevalence of brain aneurysms in the general population (they say 1%), hence the 9% they say is seen in BAV is significantly more. In fact, it's around 9% for the general population, as well. The vast majority of brain aneurysms cause no problems anyway. You should verify this for yourself, as I'm talking from memory. The BAV foundation tells the story of a woman who had an aneurysm behind her eye repaired, but no one on this forum has mentioned this as a problem.
 
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FYI, I asked my Cardiologist about Losartan and he has been following the research. I'm now taking it specifically in case it can help address the weakness in my arteries related to BAV.
 
Hey, what do you have to loose? I have kept the BP down and the AAA away with Losartan. If the shoe fits...wear it.There is also research on Apo-a1 a peptide, to reduce aortic stenosis.They have used it on rabbits and now mice.They are going to try it on humans soon. I saw this on Heart.org. They think it will open the valve by 30 Percent. Sounds real good to me.
 
HopefulHeart said:
Agian.....I had this same thought. I was concerned with brain aneurysms forming. Because if bad connective tissue can cause aneurysms in the heart, you have to ask the question of whether or not it can cause them to form in other places. I posed this question to my cardiologist. His answer was "No". He said the gene that codes for the connective tissue in the heart is different than the gene that codes for the connective tissue in the brain and other areas of the body. So any defect in the heart area is the result of an anomaly in the heart-specific gene. Hope this helps you.
Click to expand...
Not true. About 10% of BAV patients have cerebral aneurysms. When I went to Stanford for surgical repair of my BAV and aortic aneurysm, I received a brain MRI (at my request - it was not standard operating procedure, but my surgeon agreed it would be good to rule it out) as well as the usual thoracic CT. The heart and nervous system connective tissues both develop from the neural tube, so there is a relationship and the connective tissue disorder in BAV can affect both.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20439844
 
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