Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm: Frequently Asked Questions

When an aneurysm is not large enough that you need surgery, your doctor will treat you with medications to control your blood pressure and heart rate, in order to reduce the force of your blood against the wall of the aorta. The size of your aorta will be followed closely with repeated CT scan , MRI scans , or echocardiograms (ultrasound examination of the heart), to monitor for any growth. If the aneurysm grows large enough in size, surgery may then be recommend (see above).

When an aneurysm is not large enough that you need surgery, your doctor will treat you with medications to control your blood pressure and heart rate, in order to reduce the force of your blood against the wall of the aorta. The size of your aorta will be followed closely with repeated CT scan, MRI scans or echocardiograms (ultrasound examination of the heart) to monitor for any growth. If the aneurysm grows large enough in size, surgery may then be recommend.

Most of the time thoracic aortic aneurysm aneurysms (aneurysms in the chest) do not cause any symptoms when first diagnosed. Most of these aneurysms are instead discovered incidentally when patients undergo a chest x-ray, an echocardiogram (ultrasound examination of the heart), or a CT scan of the chest that was ordered for some other reason. ...

Many patients with ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms at younger ages (30s, 40s, 50s) have Marfan syndrome or a bicuspid aortic valve as the cause. However, there are other people who have aneurysms at a young age and it appears to run in their family. A number of such families have been studied and found to have a genetic abnormality that accounts for the aortic aneurysms. This is now called a familial thoracic aortic aneurysm syndrome . ...

Many patients with ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms at younger ages (30s, 40s and 50s) have Marfan syndrome or a bicuspid aortic valve as the cause. However, there are other people who have aneurysms at a young age, and it appears to run in their family. A number of such families have been studied and found to have a genetic abnormality that accounts for the aortic aneurysms. This is now called a familial thoracic aortic aneurysm syndrome. ...

Most of the time thoracic aortic aneurysm aneurysms (aneurysms in the chest) do not cause any symptoms when first diagnosed. Most of these aneurysms are instead discovered incidentally when patients undergo a chest x-ray, an echocardiogram (ultrasound examination of the heart) or a CT scan of the chest that was ordered for some other reason. ...

When a portion of the aorta is replaced surgically, we replace it with an artificial tube- graft . Therefore the aneurysm is removed and thus cannot recur in that location. In some instances, such as with some aneurysms of the ascending thoracic aorta , there is only one segment of the aorta that is abnormal so once that segment has been replaced the risk of aortic aneurysms forming elsewhere is only slight. ...

When a portion of the aorta is replaced surgically, we replace it with an artificial tube-graft. Therefore, the aneurysm is removed and cannot recur in that location. In some instances, such as with some aneurysms of the ascending thoracic aorta, there is only one segment of the aorta that is abnormal so once that segment has been replaced the risk of aortic aneurysms forming elsewhere is only slight. ...