Why the study?
To assess the safety of continued intensive exercise in an endurance athlete with a known ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm who declined surgery.
Population
One 75-year-old male endurance athlete with a 52 mm ATAA, bicuspid aortic valve, and moderate aortic regurgitation
Comparison
Continued training under predefined blood pressure and heart rate limits with regular imaging surveillance
Design
Case report
Key result
Continued intensive endurance training in a 75-year-old male with a 52 mm ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm resulted in stable aneurysm size and wall stress below rupture thresholds over 6 years.
Authors
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May permit monitored endurance training in select older athletes with aneurysms; leaves open whether wall stress improves risk stratification over diameter.
Case Report (n=1)
This case suggests that exercise counselling for patients with ATAA should incorporate aortic wall thickness and wall stress assessments alongside aneurysm diameter.
Senftinger et al. (2026) conducted a case report in Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA) (n=1). Continued intensive exercise under predefined blood pressure and heart rate limits with regular imaging surveillance was evaluated on Aneurysm size stability and aortic wall stress. Continued intensive endurance training in a 75-year-old male with a 52 mm ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm resulted in stable aneurysm size and wall stress below rupture thresholds over 6 years.