Good morning everyone! We hope your week has been getting off to a great start so far.
Today we will be discussing the roles of the patient care team. More specifically, we will discuss the specialists who are involved in the care of patients with aortic disease.
When it comes to aortic disease, the patient’s primary team is generally composed of a cardiologist and cardiothoracic surgeon, who will follow the patient’s aortic disease due to aneurysm or chronic dissection. Typically, if a patient has a known genetic condition such as Marfan syndrome or Loeys-Dietz syndrome, a cardiologist will follow the patient even before an aneurysm is identified or develops. A vascular surgeon can be involved if a patient has aneurysm(s) in the distal parts or descending aorta, or if the cardiothoracic surgeon deems that the patient needs a procedure that would benefit from a repair method done by a vascular surgeon such as a TEVAR.
It is important to note that cardiothoracic surgeons with expertise in aortic surgery are most suited to perform the repair of the aorta, should a patient need one.
A cardiologist following the patient’s aortic disease, will typically be the one who has particular expertise in reading imaging studies including echocardiography, CT scans, and MRIs, to appropriately follow the progression of a patient’s aortic disease.
A hypertension specialist will also typically follow the patient to ensure that the patient’s blood pressure is within an appropriate range so it does not contribute to the expansion or worsening of the aortic aneurysm or chronic dissection.
If a patient has Marfan syndrome or related connected tissue disorder, they would likely need to be followed by an ophthalmologist for annual eye exams and orthopedist for common issues with their flat feet, scoliosis, etc.
And this is what we have for today's session. We hope that this has been helpful. Join us back here next week and thanks for tuning in. We hope you have a great rest of your week.
Stay healthy!
~Duc