New Braunfels mayor takes medical leave

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (KXAN) — Mayor Gale Pospisil said Thursday that she will take a leave of absence beginning at the end of the month because of an aortic aneurysm that requires surgery.

Mayor Pro Tem Mark Goodner will assume the duties of the mayor’s office until Pospisil retturns.

“My leave is for medical reasons and hopefully won’t be for more than a couple months," the mayor said. "I look forward to returning to office and continuing my service to the citizens of New Braunfels as expeditiously as possible.”

Pospisil, 67, will undergo surgical repair of an aortic aneurysm at Christus Santa Rosa, New Braunfels. She said she has a bulge in a weakened area of the aorta wall.

Most patients with aortic aneurysms do not have any symptoms and the condition is usually discovered by x-rays during a routine health exam for some other unrelated condition, Pospisil said.

“I encourage those potentially at risk for aortic aneurysms to undergo screening as detection is vital to effective, early treatment,” she said.

The Society for Vascular Surgery and the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology recommends ultrasound screening for the condition for the following groups of people:

• Men who are 60 to 85 years old
• Women who are 60 to 85 old and who have cardiovascular risk factors
• Men and women 50 and older who have a family history of abdominal aortic aneurysm

Some of the same risk factors for heart attack also increase the risk of aortic aneurysm, including:

• Atherosclerosis (plaque in the artery walls)
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Heredity
• Bicuspid aortic valve