What is the danger of Aneurysm?

by Aleksandr Kavokin, MD, PhD,

An aneurysm is an out-poaching of an artery wall. The aorta, the great blood vessel going out from the heart, sometimes develops an aneurysm. The danger of aneurysms is the possibility of burst. Aortic aneurysms commonly happen in the abdomen at the level just below the kidneys. Another common place is the chest. Then aneurism is called thoracic aneurysm. Thorax means chest. Aneurysms may be caused by the Marfan syndrome (an inherited disease) and other diseases, for example, syphilis or atherosclerosis. Several more inherited and acquired diseases affect the blood vessel wall. Atherosclerosis weakens walls of the aorta by build ups of fatty deposits called plaques. The wall weakened by disease, injury or birth abnormality is very vulnerable to distention. High blood pressure often makes aneurysms worse.

How is an aneurysm detected?

Doctors find aneurysms by X-ray imaging, echocardiography, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and computed tomography (CT) scan. Very often an aneurysm is found accidentally during studies for other diseases. A small aneurysm may have no symptoms. Then a patient's doctor will want to check it regularly to see if it's enlarging. Pain in the area of an aneurysm is a common symptom. The larger an aneurysm becomes, the more likely it is to burst.

How is an aneurysm treated?

Usual treatment is the surgery. During the surgery patch or artificial piece of blood vessel replaces the aneurysm. New types of treatments include insertion of a metal mesh tube.

See more:
Aneurysm, Aortic http://www.americanheart.org
Aneurysm symptoms http://www.rdoctor.com/
Aortic aneurysm - MayoClinic.com www.mayoclinic.com/health/aortic-aneurysm
Keywords: aneurysm, treat, rdoctor, diagnosis, symptom at, self diagnosis, aortic aneurysm, thoracic aneurysm

About the Author
Aleksandr Kavokin, MD, PhD, http://www.kavokin.com/ http://www.symptomat.com/ Aleksandr received his MD from Russian State Medical University. Later he did his PhD in Immunology and Allergy. He did research in Cancer Biology at Medical University of South Carolina, 5 years of research in Cardiology at Yale University School of Medicine, had internship in General Surgery at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia