Home Heart health Abdominal aortic aneurysm: symptoms and treatment

Abdominal aortic aneurysm: symptoms and treatment

by Alivia Nyhan
Published: Last Updated on

Perhaps you have been diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm and do not know what it implies, or maybe you know about this ailment, but you would like to know how you can detect its symptoms and its treatments. This FastlyHealarticle will talk about abdominal aortic aneurysms, their symptoms, and treatment.

The abdominal aortic aneurysm is the enlargement of a part of the aorta, that is to say, of the main artery of our body, in charge of distributing the blood from the heart to the other points. Thus, if it does not work well, we may be facing a disease that puts our lives at risk.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm: causes

As we have already commented, it is the enlargement of a part of the aorta artery that occurs when plaque accumulation occurs on the walls of this artery. They become weak and lose strength, with which the plaque enlarges the area and leads the walls to the outside. The usual size of the aorta is increased by 50% in the affected area. It is common for it to occur in the abdomen area, although it could happen at any point in the artery.

The biggest problem with an abdominal aortic aneurysm, or the extreme case, is a rupture of the tissue due to the dilation of the area. That would be a severe health problem, leading to death if it is not treated immediately.

The known causes of abdominal aortic aneurysm are few, but here are the most common:

  • There is a hereditary component since people with a family history who have suffered from this disease are usually more likely to suffer.
  • They can also be caused by previous wounds that cause poor healing and weaken the aorta walls.
  • Another common cause is a bacterial infection in the arterial wall, which weakens it and can enlarge it, apart from being able to generate other diseases due to contamination or bacteria.
  • We have arteriosclerosis, a disease that directly affects the tissue membranes of the walls of the arteries.
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases: can also cause this disease because they can generate poor cell circulation and slow regeneration that can directly affect the arteries.
  • I am suffering from Marfan syndrome: a disease of the connective tissues, with its weakness and lack of strength. These tissues make up the aorta artery, so the street will likely enlarge if this syndrome is suffered.
  • It is derived from other diseases such as high cholesterol, hypertension, or the standard formation of thrombi, thrombosis.
  • Gender and age are two aspects that also influence. Men are more likely to suffer from this problem after 55 years.

Symptoms of abdominal aortic aneurysm

An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a disease that occurs within our system. It presents asymptomatic, or with few symptoms, and in a subtle way, which makes it difficult to know it quickly and that, on many occasions, it is found because of testing for other ailments. In addition, the symptoms usually appear at the time of rupture of the aortic wall, which complicates its treatment since it is a high-risk situation. We are going to know the most common abdominal aortic aneurysm symptoms:

  • Shooting pain in the back: especially in the lower back and thoracic area. The pressure generated by the enlargement produces it, and often, it usually disappears by changing position.
  • Constant pain in the abdomen: a feeling of pressure. It was also produced by force generated by the enlargement of the aorta in other areas of the body. It is usually suffered in the lower or upper abdominal regions.
  • Notice a lump in the abdomen: that can be felt with the fingers, but that has some movement. We could be directly touching our aorta with our fingers, which would indicate to us that its size has increased a lot, and we should inherently go to the hospital.
  • Nausea and vomiting are caused by the pressure placed on the stomach area and the lack of blood circulation in our body.
  • Tachycardia or very high heart rate: the difficulty in pumping blood, transferring it to the whole body, and bringing it back to the heart through this artery causes an increase in heart rate that can lead to tachycardias, arrhythmias, or cardiovascular problems.
  • Fever: Facing a physical and immune problem, our body can react by generating a frenzy. If this happens, you should see your doctor.
  • Fainting and loss of consciousness: usually because blood is lost because the artery has already been ruptured.
  • State of shock: in the most severe cases, when the rupture is severe, the person may go into shock and must be immediately transferred to a hospital for proper medical techniques.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm: treatment

When this disease is diagnosed, going through a process of body analysis, such as palpation, ultrasound, X-ray, MRI, or CT scans, that is, with X-rays, an adapted diagnosis is detected and made. Knowing its size, the degree of involvement at the body level, and the damage and danger of the situation, will act in one way or another. The most common abdominal aortic aneurysm treatments, explained in ascending order of severity, are as follows:

  • Periodic check-ups: when the abdominal aortic aneurysm is smaller than 3 cm, and there is no reason to think about an immediate enlargement of its size, regular medical check-ups will be carried out to see how it progresses if it needs more potent treatment.
  • Planned graft surgery: or endovascular aneurysm repair. If it is threatening in size but not so large as to have to perform an emergency operation, the surgery will be performed on a scheduled basis. It consists of placing a synthetic graft inside the artery that will automatically correct the aneurysm, allowing blood to flow through the graft and not through the aneurysm walls. To operate, small incisions are made in the groin, and from there, with the help of cameras and X-rays, the graft is placed in the desired area.
  • Emergency surgery: in the case of an imminent risk of rupture due to an enormous size or, directly, in the event of a fracture of the arterial cavities, an emergency surgical operation will be performed on the open abdomen. In this operation, a graft is placed in the aorta, preventing blood from passing through the aneurysm and circulating inside it.

Any surgery has a risk in itself, but the emergency is indeed performed because the person’s particular case is already high risk, which can lead to a complicated operation and, if it is not detected in time, without success.

It is essential to carry out the appropriate medical visits for each case, analyzes what the professionals propose to us, and be attentive to our own body, returning to visit the doctor in case of noticing any strange aspects. This habit can favor us and help us maintain preventive diagnoses and healthy life.

This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor if you present any condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Abdominal aortic aneurysm: symptoms and treatment, we recommend entering our Blood, heart, and circulation category.

You may also like

Leave a Comment