A Bulge Can Cause Problems Too

Your aorta is shaped like a cane. If an aneurysm is located in the curved section, open surgery is often needed. If it’s in the straight section, a cloth and wire mesh tube (stent-graft) can be placed inside the aorta to take pressure off the weak area.

The graft used to replace a damaged section of the aorta (left) is much larger than the wire mesh stent used to hold open an artery near the heart (right).

If your body were a house, the aorta would be its water main. This artery runs from your heart through your chest and abdomen, carrying blood to all parts of your body. In some people and for reasons that still aren’t fully understood, degeneration causes the walls of the aorta to weaken. A bulge in a weak area is called an aneurysm—and if an aneurysm bursts, it’s usually deadly.

“People with an aortic aneurysm typically have no symptoms or may experience only back pain,” says cardiothoracic surgeon James Wu, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “That’s why it’s important to control the risk factors to prevent one from forming.”

Aortic aneurysms usually are discovered during tests for other health problems; if found early, they can be controlled or repaired. Those near the heart require surgery. “Aortic aneurysms in the abdomen—the more common type—can be repaired with a stent that prevents the aorta from rupturing,” says Wu’s colleague, vascular surgeon Eric Wilson, M.D.

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Published from Healthy You Magazine, May-June 2008

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