Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms

Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm

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Thoracic has to do with the chest (thorax). The aorta is the main blood vessel (artery) that carries blood away from your heart to the rest of your body. An aneurysm is a bulge due to a weakness in an artery wall. A thoracic aortic aneurysm is a bulge in the part of your aorta that passes through your chest.

Blood Vessels

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• Thoracic aortic aneurysms may cause pain, coughing, and wheezing

• If the aneurysm bursts, blood flows out and you have terrible pain and low blood pressure

• A burst thoracic aortic aneurysm is fatal without emergency surgery

• Doctors often find an aneurysm by accident when they do an imaging test (such as an x-ray or CT scan) for another problem

• Doctors try to fix aneurysms with surgery before the aneurysm bursts

Causes of thoracic aortic aneurysms may include:

• Marfan syndrome, a disorder that runs in families and damages your body's tissues

• High blood pressure

• Certain infections, such as syphilis, pneumonia, or a urinary tract infection (UTI)

• Chest injuries, often from a car crash

You may not have symptoms, even if your aneurysm is very big.

Sometimes, the aneurysm presses on nearby organs, nerves, or muscles and causes symptoms, such as:

• Pain high in your back

• Coughing

• Coughing up blood

• Problems swallowing

• A hoarse voice

• Unusual pulsing in your chest

If your aneurysm bursts, symptoms include:

• Terrible pain high in your back

• Pain in your belly area, chest, and arms

• A sudden, dangerous drop in your blood pressure (shock)

• Internal bleeding

You'll die if your aneurysm bursts and you don't get emergency treatment.

Doctors ask about your symptoms or may see signs of an aneurysm during a physical exam, such as:

• A heart murmur (a whooshing sound your blood makes as it moves out of the heart into the aneurysm)

An X-ray taken for another reason may show an aneurysm.

Doctors will do imaging tests to see how big and where exactly the aneurysm is, such as:

• CT (computed tomography) scan

• Transesophageal ultrasound—done by passing an ultrasound probe down your throat into your esophagus (the tube that connects your throat to your stomach)

• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

If your aneurysm is small, doctors may have you:

• Avoid smoking

• Take blood pressure medicine

Doctors will check on the size of your aneurysm every 6 to 12 months with a CT scan.

If you have a larger aneurysm, you'll need surgery.