It's Aortic Disease Awareness Month - Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
- carinandersen
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
☀️ Good morning everyone, and welcome back to another day of #AorticDiseaseAwarenessMonth!
Yesterday we covered Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms (TAA) — today, we’re moving down the aorta to talk about Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA). 🫀👇
To review, an aneurysm is a bulge or ballooned area within the wall of a blood vessel that causes that area of the vessel to stretch to a size larger than its normal width. The vessel then loses much of its natural strength and ability to accommodate different blood volumes and thus is higher risk of rupture due to instability.
🔍 What is an AAA? An AAA is a bulge or ballooning in the abdominal portion of the aorta. As it stretches beyond its normal width, the vessel loses strength and becomes more likely to rupture — a life-threatening emergency.
⚠️ Symptoms (often silent until serious!) Most AAAs cause no symptoms until they grow large, but possible signs include:
Deep, constant belly pain
Pulsation near the bellybutton
Persistent back pain🚨 Ruptured AAA = emergency: sudden severe abdominal pain + massive internal bleeding (often fatal if not treated immediately).
📌 Causes & Risk Factors
Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
High blood pressure
Blood vessel disease or trauma
Biggest risks: age >65, being male, smoking, high cholesterol, family history
🧪 Diagnosis & Management
Usually found during screening or routine exams
Abdominal ultrasound is the go-to test
Small AAAs (<5.5 cm in men, <5.0 cm in women): managed with meds, BP/cholesterol control & quitting smoking 🚭
Large AAAs (>5.5 cm or fast-growing): surgery to repair with synthetic material
Ruptured AAAs: require immediate emergency surgery
💡 Takeaway: AAA often hides without symptoms — making screening & prevention critical. If you’re over 65, a smoker, or have a family history, talk to your doctor about screening.
👉 Stay tuned! Tomorrow we’ll be back with more Aorta Education.
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