It's Topic Tuesday!

Welcome back to another Topic Tuesday, everyone! Today, we'll be discussing aortic aneurysms.

The aorta is the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. It is built to handle high-pressure blood flow with every heartbeat. Over time, certain conditions can weaken the aortic wall. When this happens, part of the aorta can begin to bulge outward.

An aortic aneurysm is an abnormal enlargement of part of the aorta caused by weakening of the artery wall.

A helpful way to picture this is like a garden hose. If one section of the hose wall becomes weak, it starts to balloon outward. That bulge is similar to an aneurysm.

As an aneurysm grows, the wall becomes thinner and more fragile. If it enlarges too much, it can tear (called an aortic dissection) or rupture, which is a life-threatening emergency. This is why aneurysms require careful follow-up, even when they cause no symptoms.

What Causes an Aneurysm?

Several factors can contribute, including high blood pressure, genetic or connective tissue conditions (such as Marfan syndrome or bicuspid aortic valve), aging of the artery wall, smoking history, and family history. Often, more than one factor is involved.

Most aortic aneurysms cause no symptoms and are discovered incidentally on imaging tests like echocardiograms, CT scans, or MRIs. Once found, regular imaging is used to track size and growth. Surgery is recommended if the aneurysm reaches a certain size, grows quickly, or causes symptoms.

That's all for this Tuesday, folks! Until next week,

-Purab