An ultrasound, however, turned up a more serious condition: an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

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Google told him he suffered from numerous conditions he never had, including brain metastases, aortic aneurysm and a stroke.

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Ramone had been in hospital for several weeks, where he was being treated for an aortic aneurysm.

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He remembers the case of a hockey fan who suffered a ruptured aortic aneurysm during a decisive game.

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An ultrasound, however, turned up a more serious condition:an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

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Ramone, who lived in Wilton, Connecticut, had elective surgery on Feb. 27 to prevent an aortic aneurysm, son Matt Ramone said.

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Terry Conroy, 65, suffered from an abdominal aortic aneurysm in March 2011, which doctors told him he only had a one-in-10 chance of surviving.

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In 2011, Ironman winner Normann Stadler underwent emergency surgery to repair an enormous aortic aneurysm, a condition not caused but very possibly aggravated by endurance athletics.

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This is not the way to diagnose an aortic aneurysm.

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However, procedures such as hip replacements - and oesophageal and aortic aneurysm surgery which is also to be reported on - are less simple to measure as success is determined to a large degree by a patient's experience.

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