hi all. I had my appointment with my cardiologist on Wednesday he raised concerned that it is essential to bring my bp down and slow my brain down. Because my aorta is now 5.1 open heart surgery carries many risk factors with my other health conditions and poor lungs and blood circulation and other respiratory conditions.
What’s your thoughts on slowing the brain to keep me calm anxiety free. I don’t feel comfortable about slowing the brain.
Thanks in advance
I do not know about slowing the brain down but they MAY be able to consider a Tavi procedure which is less invasive than open heart surgery for those with comorbidities. Might be worth asking.
thank you I will ask him
Don't think of it as slowing the brain (what an odd expression) but rather a calming of the mind.
Breathing exercises are probably the easiest way to do this, and there's plenty of apps and videos online you can check out. A fairly simple one is to breathe in for a count of 4, and out for a count of 6.
it’s due to regular stressful situation at home. They have tried many different methods unfortunately not worked. Thanks
Is your question about "slowing the brain" then?
I would assume it's just another term for relaxing or reducing anxiety in order to lower the blood pressure. It won't impact on your brain function per sè.
How we achieve this is different for everyone, some use meditation or breathing techniques, some find a walk in nature or other exercise helps their mental state.
If there's a recurrent issue causing stress, the techniques won't eliminate this - you need to tackle that at the source. But the techniques give you tools to use to reduce the effect of stress. It's not quick, and not always easy, but over time it can prove to be beneficial.
thank you
What sort of techniques have you tried before ? Just so I don't suggest something that might not have worked for you.
Like Cpt. Birdseye says , the most useful thing is to reduce Stress in your Life as it causes Anxiety or over excitement and this can make your physical conditions worse. Learning breathing exercises or other distraction techniques help to calm your mind and then your symptoms, but they can't work alone often you need to get to the root of the problem that is making you overthink or become anxious.
Managing Stress usually involves working out what things are causing you the Stress and symptoms and then trying to create a plan to help you avoid them , or adapt the activity or how you deal with it to make it less stressful if you can't avoid it entirely.
I know this can often be difficult to achieve , especially if the Stress is in the home, or part of your relationship with others . If that is the case , you may be able to chat with your GP or Consultant and organise some sort of group support meeting where you can get help explaining to others from the professional what sort of help you need and how things can be organised to make things easier and less stressful for everyone.
Hope things improve soon, Bee
my gp and many others have tried given me different methods. But situation is complexed due to many different factors including bereavement. Thanks for your offer to help.
I took it to mean some kind of medication for slowing the brain.Can't think of any good advice though.Exercise sometimes helps.Aorta is the big artery but i don't know anything about it.
Hello... I have just seen this and I am not on the forum on a daily basis as I have too many things going on at the moment.
A TAVI (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Insertion) is not appropriate to you as yours is a problem with the Aorta itself., an Aortic Aneurysm. However, there is a minimally invasive procedure to repair this called an TEVAR (Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair). One thing to bear in mind is that if anything untoward happens, like a dissection, it becomes OHS (Open Heat Surgery). I believe not all heart hospital are qualified to do this procedure so you may have to go to somewhere like Papworth or Royal Brompton & Harefield if this procedure is an option.
thank you. I am fortunate that we have local heart specialist hospital in our city. My concern are will my body recover with weak heart LVD CAD enlarge heart diabetes copd along with other health issues. Just to prolong life for few more years. Or let nature take its cause.
i'm sorry to hear that you are struggling to "slow your brain down" - it's something i think i also have problems with, but my issue may be completely different to yours
you say that it is difficult because it is complex - so my suggestion is that you might need some help with unravelling the complexity and working out ways of dealing with each complexity - you may find this a completely inappropriate suggestion but have you tried counselling, with someone who maybe has some experience with bereavement counselling but also other areas - working out what causing your brain to go fast would probably be a really helpful step in starting to slow it down more effectively - i doubt there is a miracle one-step solution if it is so complex
thanks again for your advice ye do have had counselling the root of my stress is is with immediate family at home and other family members from Both sides none of them realise how much damage the bp has caused outside authorities have got involved but it’s better for a couple weeks then back to square one. There is too many expectations from me but they not realising
My condition is slowing me down. Many times I thought of leaving them all and taking off someone to quite Ireland lol.
I have accepted that they never gonna change.by the way I come from a Asian family and tradition and thoughts are not as sympathetic.
Yes I know it is a worrying time for you and yes this causes the brain to over work. I would suggests to relax your mind is to do things that you enjoy doing yoga reading and even sleeping. I know it going to be hard but I know it will help the the brain to relax. Gave it time start off with simple steps then gradually work towards relaxation techniques. I have done it and still at ie going out with friends gardening, yoga and sleeping, as If I did not do this I would have gone into deep depression. good luck with the operation and keep the faith and be strong
thanks winter. I have come to terms with my health yes I do feel frustrated when I can’t do simple every day task. My stress is more related to family issues constant arguing too much expectation from me etc.
Echo results help needed.
Enlargwd Aorta
ascending aorta graft
Cardiologist 
