It's Survivor Series Saturday Featuring Bryan Potter!

We're honored to introduce the newest story in our Saturday Survivor Series featuring Bryan Potter. Thank you so much for sharing your story to the Aortic Hope community.

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Bryan's Story:

I was 65, retired and in pretty good shape from frequent hiking near my mountain town but had untreated high blood pressure. If my event happened while hiking, or on a dog walk with my wife, or driving in the mountains, or on the flight to Iceland planned for later that day, I probably wouldn't have made it. 

In July of 2025, I had just finished brushing my teeth and sat down to put on my shoes before driving the 45 minutes down to a weekly Optimist Club breakfast meeting.  I felt a pretty strong chest pain that I thought was a heart attack.  I told my wife, a retired nurse BTW, and she drove me the 5 minutes to the ER and I walked in.

They gave me blood thinners (etc) for heart attack but while on the table I said something confusing that concerned both Dr and wife.  An immediate CT determined Aortic Dissection that resulted in a helicopter flight to a major hospital and a 7.5 hour surgery for a Type A replacement graft of the ascending arch.  I was told that 5 more minutes would have been too long - I had been losing blood internally and also losing the blood supply to organs. 

It was 10 days in ICU of which I don't remember anything of the first three full days after walking into the ER, not even the flight.  Blood supply to heart, lungs and other organs are fine now even though the dissection traveled a little beyond the pelvic split. I was discharged weak as kitten and barely able to walk up our 100 foot driveway and across the street. 

With the loving care of my ex-nurse, I slowly got stronger.  I did the work.  A year later, I have recovered 90% of my strength but only 50% of stamina and distance for steeper uphill sections of trails - because of lower blood pressures and heart rates from medications and the effort.  I have to be careful choosing my trails but I'm getting out there.  I can't fly small airplanes (alone) or scuba dive - two of my other life's passions.  Otherwise, a somewhat normal life has mostly returned. 

I just celebrated the first aniversary of my Life Day with family & friends, and gifted my ER doc and heart surgeon with thank you cards and chocolates. 

Bryan Potter