Aortic aneurysm can be detected, managed, and subdued — life-saving guidance from one of the world’s leading aortic surgeons and the patient advocate who lived it
TORONTO, ON – July 9, 2026 – What do Albert Einstein, Lucille Ball, John Ritter, Jonathan Larson, and Grant Wahl all have in common? Each suffered from aortic aneurysm or dissection – a condition so often symptomless until catastrophe that physicians call it the “silent killer.” Aortic aneurysms account for nearly 10 per cent of all sudden deaths, yet most people cannot identify where their aorta is, let alone how to protect it. Your Aorta: An Owner’s Guide (University of Toronto Press, AEVO Imprint, August 18, 2026, $39.95) aims to change that.
Your Aorta pairs Dr. John A. Elefteriades – the Yale cardiothoracic surgeon recognized by Expertscape and Scholar GPS as the world’s foremost thoracic aortic expert with more than 10,000 cardiothoracic operations to his name – with Catherine Fowler, the celebrated UK patient advocate who founded The Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust after losing her father to a misdiagnosed dissection. Together, they have written the first comprehensive guide to the aorta for every “owner”: an accessible, richly illustrated question-and-answer handbook covering the artery’s anatomy, how to keep it healthy, when an aneurysm needs treatment, and what patients and families can expect from medical, surgical, and endovascular care.
The book’s central message is one of hope: “Perhaps the most important message we have for you in this book is ‘We Can Keep You Safe,’” the authors write. With early detection, modern imaging, genetic screening, and surgical techniques pioneered in part by Dr. Elefteriades himself, an aneurysm diagnosis is the beginning of a plan, not an ending – it is a manageable condition compatible with a long, active life.
Alongside medical guidance, Your Aorta confronts the emotional and psychological weight of aortic disease through first-person patient stories — some devastating, others inspiring. These include Fowler’s own account of her father’s story and the advocacy it ignited, an emergency physician’s candid analysis of a misdiagnosis, and athletes’ journeys back to the gridiron and racetrack.
Early praise has come from across the medical community. Dr. Valentin Fuster, President of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, calls it “a clear, authoritative overview of the aorta.” Yale cardiologist Dr. Sandip Mukherjee describes it as “clear, compassionate, and highly authoritative,” and Randi Hutter Epstein, MD, Writer in Residence at Yale School of Medicine, hails it as essential reading “for all of us who are curious and care about our bodies and our well-being.”
Your Aorta: An Owner’s Guide is available for purchase at utpublishing.com and major book retailers.