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What Are The Chances Of Having Increased Risk Of Aneurysm In Old Age?
Question: Hi there,
I'm a 34 year old who doesn't smoke, drinks moderately, exercises regularly, and tries to eat healthy. I do have some weight to lose and am sometimes prehypertensive (though often normal or near-normal in the morning and not too bad later on) but am making progress getting it lower (and part of it may be anxiety related as I have had health anxieties, which I'm seeing a therapist and nutritionist about).
I had a question about some things I did in the past and chance of having increased risk of aneurysm later in life (as aneurysms particularly scare me).
My main concern is an incident that happened several years ago (4-5 I'd say). I had tried a legal stimulant (I don't know exactly what - it was supposed to be herbal and was an extremely stupid thing to try), and ended up having a reaction to the stimulant (as well as possibly anxiety/panic attacks) that resulted in a heart rate that stayed between 120-160 for a little less than 10 hours (it was only up at the higher end of that for 2 hours or less). It was a scary experience, but I've always wondered if a single incident like that could have compromised my health, specifically whether it could have caused an aneurysm or blood vessel weaknesses making me prone to problems (a burst aneurysm specifically) later (as I know things like chronic heavy cocaine use can, and while this was a single experience, it was a longer duration one).
I've never smoked and do drink moderately (used to drink a bit heavier but I've cut back considerably as I've gotten older). I did experiment with pot, and I tried a small amount of cocaine twice in my twenties, but never a lot, so I'm not as worried about that.
As I mentioned, my lifestyle now is pretty healthy, and I'm working to make it even healthier (therapist for anxiety issues, nutritionist to eat better, regular exercise, etc.). Is there much of a chance these stupid decisions I made when I was younger could have led to a proneness of aneurysm that may be a problem later in life?
Thank you very much for your help!
I'm a 34 year old who doesn't smoke, drinks moderately, exercises regularly, and tries to eat healthy. I do have some weight to lose and am sometimes prehypertensive (though often normal or near-normal in the morning and not too bad later on) but am making progress getting it lower (and part of it may be anxiety related as I have had health anxieties, which I'm seeing a therapist and nutritionist about).
I had a question about some things I did in the past and chance of having increased risk of aneurysm later in life (as aneurysms particularly scare me).
My main concern is an incident that happened several years ago (4-5 I'd say). I had tried a legal stimulant (I don't know exactly what - it was supposed to be herbal and was an extremely stupid thing to try), and ended up having a reaction to the stimulant (as well as possibly anxiety/panic attacks) that resulted in a heart rate that stayed between 120-160 for a little less than 10 hours (it was only up at the higher end of that for 2 hours or less). It was a scary experience, but I've always wondered if a single incident like that could have compromised my health, specifically whether it could have caused an aneurysm or blood vessel weaknesses making me prone to problems (a burst aneurysm specifically) later (as I know things like chronic heavy cocaine use can, and while this was a single experience, it was a longer duration one).
I've never smoked and do drink moderately (used to drink a bit heavier but I've cut back considerably as I've gotten older). I did experiment with pot, and I tried a small amount of cocaine twice in my twenties, but never a lot, so I'm not as worried about that.
As I mentioned, my lifestyle now is pretty healthy, and I'm working to make it even healthier (therapist for anxiety issues, nutritionist to eat better, regular exercise, etc.). Is there much of a chance these stupid decisions I made when I was younger could have led to a proneness of aneurysm that may be a problem later in life?
Thank you very much for your help!
Brief Answer:
No relationship to aneurysm development
Detailed Answer:
Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Saghafi and I would like to answer your question of things you've done in the past with the risk of developing aneurysms.
This will be likely the SHORTEST and LEAST complex answer I've given on any telemedicine network EVER as I am prone to going into excruciating detail almost as obsessively as you say you worry about health problems! HA-HA!
At any rate, here is the answer in a nice short, to the point, and factually accurate form:
NO RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RISK OF ANEURYSMAL DEVELOPMENT BASED ON ANYTHING YOU'VE WRITTEN ABOUT.
That's it...simple and to the point.
The risk of developing or not developing aneurysms is based the following list of risk factors:
1. Male gender.
2. Age. The risk for aneurysms increases as you get older. Aneurysms are more
likely to occur in people aged 65 or older.
3. Smoking. Smoking can damage and weaken the walls of arteries and so this is
a known risk factor having to do with lifestyle trait.
4. Family history of aneurysms. People who have family histories of aneurysms
are at higher risk for the condition, and they may have aneurysms before the
age of 65.
5. A history of aneurysms in the arteries of the legs as well as certain diseases
and conditions that weaken the walls of arteries such as high blood pressure
and atherosclerosis.
The single event you mentioned of using a stimulant and maintaining an elevated heart rate for 10 hrs. would have no consequence in terms of causing or contributing to the formation of an aneurysm later in life. If people who have had years of exposure to substances such as cocaine and amphetamines do not necessarily run any increased risk for aneurysmal development later in life if they stop that behavior and remain clean for any length of time.
Bottom line: No additional risk for development of vascular aneurysms in yourself based upon anything you mentioned as having been part of your previous history or lifestyle decisions you made which resulted in transient and insignificant elevations in heart-rate (we don't even know what your blood pressure was during that episode so we can't even say for sure that your blood pressure was raised for any length of time).
I'd appreciate the favor of a STAR RATING and some written feedback if your question has been satisfactorily answered.
Also CLOSING THE QUERY on your end will also be most helpful and also appreciated so that this transaction can be processed.
Don't forget that my webpage to keep me abreast as to how your son is doing if you choose or if you ever have any other questions of a medical nature is:
bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi
All the Best
This query has required a total of 22 minutes of physician specific time to read, research, and compile the return envoy to the patient.
No relationship to aneurysm development
Detailed Answer:
Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Saghafi and I would like to answer your question of things you've done in the past with the risk of developing aneurysms.
This will be likely the SHORTEST and LEAST complex answer I've given on any telemedicine network EVER as I am prone to going into excruciating detail almost as obsessively as you say you worry about health problems! HA-HA!
At any rate, here is the answer in a nice short, to the point, and factually accurate form:
NO RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RISK OF ANEURYSMAL DEVELOPMENT BASED ON ANYTHING YOU'VE WRITTEN ABOUT.
That's it...simple and to the point.
The risk of developing or not developing aneurysms is based the following list of risk factors:
1. Male gender.
2. Age. The risk for aneurysms increases as you get older. Aneurysms are more
likely to occur in people aged 65 or older.
3. Smoking. Smoking can damage and weaken the walls of arteries and so this is
a known risk factor having to do with lifestyle trait.
4. Family history of aneurysms. People who have family histories of aneurysms
are at higher risk for the condition, and they may have aneurysms before the
age of 65.
5. A history of aneurysms in the arteries of the legs as well as certain diseases
and conditions that weaken the walls of arteries such as high blood pressure
and atherosclerosis.
The single event you mentioned of using a stimulant and maintaining an elevated heart rate for 10 hrs. would have no consequence in terms of causing or contributing to the formation of an aneurysm later in life. If people who have had years of exposure to substances such as cocaine and amphetamines do not necessarily run any increased risk for aneurysmal development later in life if they stop that behavior and remain clean for any length of time.
Bottom line: No additional risk for development of vascular aneurysms in yourself based upon anything you mentioned as having been part of your previous history or lifestyle decisions you made which resulted in transient and insignificant elevations in heart-rate (we don't even know what your blood pressure was during that episode so we can't even say for sure that your blood pressure was raised for any length of time).
I'd appreciate the favor of a STAR RATING and some written feedback if your question has been satisfactorily answered.
Also CLOSING THE QUERY on your end will also be most helpful and also appreciated so that this transaction can be processed.
Don't forget that my webpage to keep me abreast as to how your son is doing if you choose or if you ever have any other questions of a medical nature is:
bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi
All the Best
This query has required a total of 22 minutes of physician specific time to read, research, and compile the return envoy to the patient.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks so much for the detailed and insightful response! I'm glad this was an easy one for you! :)
It's a relief to know there's no relation to aneurysm development.
I guess I was worried because I had read an article stating that aneurysms were more prevalent in heavy cocaine users (including an anecdote about a past heavy two-year user having one), and I was wondering if a single event of a stimulant that lasted longer than cocaine could be "equivalent". You are correct, however, that I cannot say what my blood pressure was during that time - I'm pretty sure it had a vasoconstriction effect (as without going into too much detail, blood flow seemed decreased until I fully recovered from the experience), which might indicate a higher pressure, but there's no way to know. The only thing I did know for sure was heart rate and the time it was elevated.
From what you're saying, though, you're not at all concerned this could have triggered an aneurysm forming. Even if blood pressure did happen to be high for this time period, is that still the case?
Thanks for the followup and I will be happy to leave an excellent star rating once I close out the discussion!
It's a relief to know there's no relation to aneurysm development.
I guess I was worried because I had read an article stating that aneurysms were more prevalent in heavy cocaine users (including an anecdote about a past heavy two-year user having one), and I was wondering if a single event of a stimulant that lasted longer than cocaine could be "equivalent". You are correct, however, that I cannot say what my blood pressure was during that time - I'm pretty sure it had a vasoconstriction effect (as without going into too much detail, blood flow seemed decreased until I fully recovered from the experience), which might indicate a higher pressure, but there's no way to know. The only thing I did know for sure was heart rate and the time it was elevated.
From what you're saying, though, you're not at all concerned this could have triggered an aneurysm forming. Even if blood pressure did happen to be high for this time period, is that still the case?
Thanks for the followup and I will be happy to leave an excellent star rating once I close out the discussion!
Brief Answer:
Thank you for the additional information
Detailed Answer:
There have been many studies looking at a lot of different aspects of cocaine abuse. Some of the claims of disease entities such as vasculitis of a focal nature which are felt to be the triggering event that can lead to aneurysmal swelling in abusers has been proposed.
However, this is controversial and the mechanism by which this happens is vague and not universally accepted. The fact, that chronic cocaine and other illicit substance abusers may have chronic hypertension is not questioned and in fact, you will see in my explanation that hypertension is a risk factor for aneurysmal swellings and acquisition. However, this is based on chronic conditions and not single episodic events.
Therefore, what I said 13 hrs. ago about YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION continues to hold true. You should not have to worry about having developed or developing aneurysms in the future based upon the information you've provided and the information we currently hold to be true in terms of risk factors and associated conditions.
I hope it is as equally clear that the simple fact of NOT HAVING or NOT BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY risk factors for any ailment or condition is no guarantee that an individual will not or cannot develop a the condition in question, right?
In other words, people who are perfectly healthy without any history of hypertension, illicit substance abuse, and no family history can and still do wind up with aneurysms. I hope that sort of inexplicable phenomenon does not happen either to YOU or TO ME! LOL.
Many thanks for your favor of a HIGH STAR RATING and some written feedback if you've enjoyed my response set to your question.
Also CLOSING THE QUERY on your end will be most helpful and also appreciated so that this transaction can be processed.
Don't forget that my webpage to keep me abreast as to how you are doing or if you ever have any other questions of a medical nature is:
bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi
All the Best--- and please stay clear of things you know you shouldn't ingest and that way you will avoid these types of worries in the future.
This query has required a total of 45 minutes of physician specific time to read, research, and compile the return envoy to the patient.
Thank you for the additional information
Detailed Answer:
There have been many studies looking at a lot of different aspects of cocaine abuse. Some of the claims of disease entities such as vasculitis of a focal nature which are felt to be the triggering event that can lead to aneurysmal swelling in abusers has been proposed.
However, this is controversial and the mechanism by which this happens is vague and not universally accepted. The fact, that chronic cocaine and other illicit substance abusers may have chronic hypertension is not questioned and in fact, you will see in my explanation that hypertension is a risk factor for aneurysmal swellings and acquisition. However, this is based on chronic conditions and not single episodic events.
Therefore, what I said 13 hrs. ago about YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION continues to hold true. You should not have to worry about having developed or developing aneurysms in the future based upon the information you've provided and the information we currently hold to be true in terms of risk factors and associated conditions.
I hope it is as equally clear that the simple fact of NOT HAVING or NOT BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY risk factors for any ailment or condition is no guarantee that an individual will not or cannot develop a the condition in question, right?
In other words, people who are perfectly healthy without any history of hypertension, illicit substance abuse, and no family history can and still do wind up with aneurysms. I hope that sort of inexplicable phenomenon does not happen either to YOU or TO ME! LOL.
Many thanks for your favor of a HIGH STAR RATING and some written feedback if you've enjoyed my response set to your question.
Also CLOSING THE QUERY on your end will be most helpful and also appreciated so that this transaction can be processed.
Don't forget that my webpage to keep me abreast as to how you are doing or if you ever have any other questions of a medical nature is:
bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi
All the Best--- and please stay clear of things you know you shouldn't ingest and that way you will avoid these types of worries in the future.
This query has required a total of 45 minutes of physician specific time to read, research, and compile the return envoy to the patient.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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