Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Suspected Anurysm
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Suspected Anurysm
by Mark__0, Dec 16, 1998 12:00AM
My 84 yr old father just told me that a chest x-ray reveiled a "chest anurysm" approximately 5 cm in diameter. He had a CAT sacn and is awaiting the results. My father is in good health, and isvery active (he travels quite a bit). What are the implications of this anurysm and what can be done about it? Is his life in immediate danger? I comments are appreciated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mark,
Thank you for your question. An aneurysm is a dilation of a blood vessel. They can occur anywhere in the body and are a result of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and high blood pressure. The areas where they can be dangerous are in the aorta. The risk is of an aneurysm is rupture resulting in sudden death. This risk increases as the size of the aneurysm increases. In general when the aneurysm is 4-6 cm an operation is indicated to repair the aneurysm. This is major surgery but is usually well tolerated. For those unable to undergo surgery new stents are being developed that can be placed in the aorta through a small hole in the leg.
Medication may be used to help control the blood pressure before surgery.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
