Aortic Aneurysm Specialist

What is an aortic aneurysm?

An aortic aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge in a major blood vessel that carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body. Aneurysms are often round or tube-shaped and can cause severe complications up to and including death when left untreated, especially if they rupture.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms develop along part of a blood vessel that passes through your abdomen, while thoracic aortic aneurysms develop in vessels that pass through your chest cavity. It’s possible to have both abdominal and thoracic aneurysms at the same time.

What are the symptoms of aortic aneurysms?

Small aortic aneurysms don’t often cause symptoms, but larger aneurysms or those that rupture can cause:

• Shortness of breath
• Upper chest pain
• Back pain
• Abdominal discomfort
• Hoarseness
• Difficulty swallowing
• Pulsating feeling in your abdomen
• A throbbing lump under your skin
• Severe pain
• A ripping sensation in your chest
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Difficulty speaking
• Problems walking

Heart failure can also occur. See your provider right away if you have any of these symptoms, especially dizziness, walking or speaking problems, and/or severe pain. These can be symptoms of a life-threatening emergency.

What are the risk factors for aortic aneurysms?

While aortic aneurysms can happen to anyone, some things raise your risk of developing one. Examples include:

• Emphysema
• Smoking
• Prior stroke or heart attack
• Carotid disease
• Circulatory problems
• Heart disease
• Coronary artery disease
• High blood pressure
• Previous heart bypass
• Obesity
• Physical inactivity 
• Poor diet

Adopting healthy habits reduces your risk of developing heart and blood vessel problems, including aneurysms.

How does my doctor diagnose aortic aneurysms?

Many times, providers detect aortic aneurysms when seeing patients for other reasons. Your specialist checks your vital signs, reviews your medical history, discusses your symptoms, completes a physical exam, and listens to your chest and abdomen. X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, or other imaging procedures can often detect an unsuspected aneurysm.

How are aortic aneurysms treated?

Sarasota Vascular Specialists offer several ways to treat thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms. These include:

Lifestyle changes

Eat healthy foods, get regular exercise, and control blood pressure with healthy habits or medications to reduce the risk of a smaller aneurysm growing and rupturing. And don’t smoke.

Surgery

If you have a larger aortic aneurysm that’s at risk of rupturing, your provider will strongly suggest surgery to repair and strengthen the affected artery or replace it. Your surgeon offers open surgical repair and less-invasive endovascular surgical repair using a tiny lighted tube and X-ray guidance.

Call the Sarasota Vascular Specialists office or book an appointment online today to find out if you have an aortic aneurysm and receive treatment if needed.