Aortic Aneurysm

It is the ballooning outward of the wall of the aorta, the body's main blood pipe, from a weakened area after it has thinned due to high pressure and arteriosclerosis.

The vast majority of cases (about 75%) are seen in the abdominal aorta, located below the lower part of the stomach and beneath the kidney arteries. This is called an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. Less frequently, it is seen in the aorta within the rib cage (Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm).

Men over the age of 60 are the highest risk group. Long-term smoking (the most dangerous factor), uncontrolled high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), high cholesterol, and a family history of aneurysms multiply the risk.

Most of the time, it gives no symptoms. Abdominal aortic aneurysms can sometimes cause a feeling of a pulsating lump, like a heartbeat, around the belly button. If the growing aneurysm presses on nerves, a deep and continuous back or abdominal pain is felt. The moment it ruptures, the person collapses, experiencing unbearable pain, a drop in blood pressure, and cold sweats.

It is usually found incidentally during an Abdominal Ultrasound or CT scan performed for gallstones, kidney stones, or the prostate. Its diameter and location are mapped out millimetrically with a 'Contrast CT (CT Angio)'. These methods are for abdominal aortic aneurysms; for thoracic ones, tomography and ECHO are also used.

Aneurysms smaller than 5 - 5.5 cm in diameter are monitored at 6-month intervals with medication (blood pressure lowerers) and smoking cessation. If the vessel diameter exceeds 5.5 cm, the risk of rupture is very high, and intervention is considered. The closed method (EVAR/TEVAR), which involves entering through the groin using an angiography technique and placing an artificial tube (Stent Graft) inside the vessel, is the most frequently applied modern and comfortable treatment.