Dr. Saliveros Apostolos

The blood is carried from the heart to all the parts of our body by the arteries and the biggest artery is the aorta which starts from the heart and ends inside the abdomen near our belly button. The aorta is in fact an elastic tube that carries blood under pressure. Sometimes this elastic tube looses its strength and expands in diameter (from 2 cm diameter which is the normal it can reach 5,6,7 or more cm). The wall of the aorta then becomes fragile and there can be a rapture causing the blood to come out of the aorta and spread inside the abdomen. As a result the patient is in shock with high probability of loosing his life from hemorrhage. Thats why is very important to know if someone has aneurysm.

The diagnosis is very simple. All we need is an ultrasound of the abdomen checking the abdominal aorta.

The reasons why the aorta expands in diameter are mainly two : heredity and smoking. So it is advised that people who have a relative with aneurysm or smoke check the dimensions of their abdominal aorta with ultrasound.

The treatment is by open surgery or endovascular repair (stent).