One month ago, my father, 55, complained of back and stomach pains. He began yelling out and turned white saying he couldn't breathe. We called 911 and he was rushed to the ER. We thought he was having a heart attack because he has suffered these before. A CT scan revealed that he had ruptured an unknown abdominal aortic aneurysm and would need emergency surgery. The vascular surgeon arrived and advised us to say goodbye. He gave us only 10 percent chance of survival saying he would try his best to save my dad, but it didn't look good. Eleven hours of straight surgery later and dad was wheeled into ICU. This began a 24 hour vigil because soon after his kidneys failed. Two days later we were told his legs would need amputation as the surgeon performed an operation, cutting huge gaps into his legs to drain fluid from them so they could get circulation. Parts of his digestive tract were damaged and removed. Every nurse, every doctor looked at me and my family with sorrowful eyes saying he didn't look good. It has now been one month. Dad is in physical therapy. He took 60 steps with a walker today. He urinated 200cc's. The doctors were amazed. His vascular surgeon in particular is an angel on earth. NEVER GIVE UP HOPE! And tell everyone young and old about AAA - its a silent killer!

I experienced a bulge above and underneath my navel which grew to cover both sides of the navel as well. With antibiotics, the sides relaxed but top and bottom are still swollen. My navel did not pop. I don't think it is a belly bottom hernia. I do have a history of a hardened aorta where the right heart chamber is bigger than the left. My left ventricle is also leaking blood. Symptoms: Very feverish and uncomfortable especially when climbing stairs. I experience semi-impotency (perhaps due to high blood pressure and medicines). It feels as if I have been kicked in stomach from time to time. Sleeplessness, urinating often, a lot of water in system, swollen feet, etc.

I just want to try and make everybody as aware of this condition as I can! I am a 27-year-old female and am a very healthy and active individual. I went to the doctor with abdominal and back pain just last week because I could not take the pain anymore. He felt my abdomen and sent me off to get an ultrasound. He called me back into his office two days later and explained to me that I have an abdominal aortic aneurysm and that they were sending me to see a specialist. I was in complete shock! Had I not gone in for the pain, and if it had just gone away on its own, I would have had no idea! I'm still completely shocked at the news. As rare as it is that I do have it at this age, it still can happen. I encourage everybody to go get themselves checked out!

I am a 67-year-old male with a family history of high cholesterol and have had heart problems since I was in my early 40s. I have had three coronary bypass surgeries, and I suffered one heart attack about seven years ago. I also had atrial fibrillation about 10 years ago and had an ablation to resolve the problem. With all of my heart problems, I have been on Statins and Niacin for my cholesterol since my 40s. I am also taking Beta Blockers, although I never did have high blood pressure. Seven years ago during a routine medical exam, my cardiologist commented that I had a "pulsating abdominal aorta." This did not mean much to me at the time, but over the next several years, he continued to check and measure in the area of the aorta on my abdomen. About three years ago, I had a CT scan of my pelvis and abdomen done because I had a high reading on a PSA test. It turned out that the high PSA was caused by a bladder infection, but it also highlighted the aortic aneurysm and gave a reading of 4.5 cm. My doctors informed me that they would monitor the aneurysm with regular CT scans every six months. I have been getting these scans since then and the aneurysm is stable. My last exam this month showed it was 4.4 to 4.7 cm. My cardiologists say that I am a candidate for a stent if and when the aneurysm enlarges to 5.0 cm or larger. I recommend a scan for everyone who is at risk for an aneurysm.