First off I want to give sincere thanks to the amazing Benjamin Prewitt and Sonda’s MCS Chatter for kindly re-posting Marfacts on their blogs! Thank you both so much for helping spread the word!

In honor of Marfan Syndrome awareness month, here’s today’s Marfact (provided by the wonderful Marfan Foundation).

Marfact #5: The life‐threatening part of Marfan syndrome is it’s effect on the aorta, the large blood vessel that takes blood away from the heart. In affected people, it can enlarge, leading to a tear or rupture. With monitoring and treatment, this does not have to happen!

Visit www.marfan.org for more information.

I was 17 years old when my cardiologist at BC Children’s Hospital sat my mom and I down and told us that my aorta was starting to enlarge. It was a hard thing to hear. This wasn’t my first echocardiogram; I’d been having them once a year…