Abdominal aneurysm is a condition when the belly develops a bulge
and the walls of the organ starts becoming weak and ruptured. The
typical meaning of the word aneurysm is “widening” or enlargement.
Aneurysm has to deal with aorta, which is the largest artery in the
body. The course of aorta goes through the abdomen and as the flow of
blood in the aorta is great, pressure increases in the organ causing
rapture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm also referred to as surefire
catastrophe.
In short, you can say that abdominal aneurysm
is a weak spot and bulge in the main artery in the abdomen known as
aorta. If you are thin, your aorta can be felt exteriorly as a beating
deep tube inside the abdomen. When abdominal aneurysm occurs, the aorta
enlarges and it feels more than its normal size. As a result of this,
your abdomen and back starts paining. At times several tests and even
an x-ray is done to identify a bulging aorta.
Abdominal
aneurysm is caused when the walls of the aorta become weak due to high
blood pressure or heart disease. Consequently the walls start leaking
or it can also break leading to fatal consequences.
In case
of abdominal aneurysm, your physician may desire to have a test done in
order to find out how big the aorta has become and whether the flow of
blood through the bulged area is normal or not. At times blood starts
flowing along the outside edge of the bulge cutting off essential
supply of blood to other blood vessels for an easy rupturing of the
aneurysm.
Causes
The three most usual causes of
abdominal aorta are high blood pressure, smoking and atherosclerosis.
Abdominal aneurysm is mostly seen in older people and men. The
peculiarity of the disease is that it may run in families.
In
most cases, the disease comes without any symptoms, but when the walls
of the blood vessels starts leaking and tearing, you feel pain in the
stomach, groin, leg, testicle, back and buttocks. When you sense that
you have a higher risk of aneurysm, you should at once see a doctor who
will ask you to go through an ultrasound test. This helps in measuring
the size of your aorta.
Treatment
It is not easy
to treat abdominal aneurysm at the initial stage, but it is essential
to keep a constant watch over the growth of the organ. A surgery is
mandatory in case the abdominal aneurysm is large, growing and leaking.
At the time of surgery, the surgeon attempts at replacing the dented
part of the aorta by using an artificial tube. This helps in letting
the blood flow normally and preventing the blood vessels from breaking.
Immediate repair, surveillance and conservative are the
three most effective treatment options of it. Repair can be done in two
ways – open aneurysm repair (OR), and endovascular aneurysm repair
(EVAR).
However, it is essential for you to get rid of
abdominal aneurysm with the help of the best possible treatment.
Remember, that a neglected condition of this disease can indeed be
devastating.