abdominal aortic aneurysm

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Dennis Brennan met Albert Hakaim, M.D., a vascular surgeon at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus, in January 2008. Then 73 years old and living in Ft. Meyers, Florida, Dennis had just learned that he had an abdominal aortic aneurysm — a weakened and enlarged area in the lower part of the aorta, the main artery that supplies blood to the body. Abdominal aortic aneurysms affect only about 8 percent of the population. But they are serious. If it ruptures, an abdominal aortic aneurysm can be life-threatening. After learning his diagnosis, Dennis knew he wanted a second opinion, especially because he had a family history of abdominal aortic aneurysms. Dennis immediately thought of Mayo Clinic. He and his wife Anna had been to Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus, many times, where Dennis had his annual physicals for nearly three decades.

In this Mayo Clinic Radio Health Minute, Dr. Peter Gloviczki comments on recent recommendations regarding screening for abdominal aortic [...]

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My father, who is 70, was a smoker for 30 years. I have read that men who used to smoke should be screened for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. What does the screening involve? What would be done if he is found to have an aneurysm? ANSWER: Because of his history of smoking, you are correct that your father should be screened for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The screening usually includes a physical exam and an ultrasound of the abdomen. Other imaging tests may be needed in some cases, too. If an abdominal aortic aneurysm is found, treatment depends on the size of the aneurysm, its rate of growth, and if it is causing any symptoms. The aorta is a large blood vessel about the size of a garden hose that runs from your heart through the center of your chest and abdomen. An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a bulge in the aorta just above the area of your belly button that forms due to weakness in the blood vessel’s wall. The greatest risk of such an aneurysm is that it will rupture. Because it provides the body with much of its blood supply, a rupture in the abdominal aorta can lead to life-threatening internal bleeding.

Bulges in body’s major blood vessel can cause potentially lethal ruptures, blood clots An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a potentially life-threatening condition: If the body’s major blood vessel ruptures, it can prove deadly. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently updated its recommendations on screening. Mayo Clinic vascular surgeon Peter Gloviczki, M.D., explains who should be watched for abdominal aortic aneurysms, how they are diagnosed and how surgery, which now includes a less invasive endovascular option, is improving survival rates: What abdominal aortic aneurysms are: a bulge in the aorta, which is the body’s largest artery and is located in the abdomen above the belly button. The greatest risk is that the aneurysm will rupture. “With every heartbeat there is increased pressure on the area of the aorta that has a weak wall and it bulges out, and ultimately when it reaches a certain size, it is going to rupture,” says Dr. Gloviczki, the Joe M. and Ruth Roberts Professor of Surgery at Mayo Clinic and past president of the Society for Vascular Surgery. “And rupture is a lethal complication.”

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released recommendations Tuesday on which symptom-free patients should be screened for abdominal aortic aneurysms, [...]