Among all known diseases of the heart and blood vessels, doctors distinguish the category that poses the greatest danger to human life. It includes myocardial infarction and aortic aneurysm. We will talk about the latter in more detail in the article.
Aneurysm of the aorta of the heart: what is it and why is it dangerous?
The aorta is one of the largest arteries in the human body, which is located next to the heart. Through it, blood from the main muscle flows into all other arteries. Cardiac aortic aneurysm is a pathology in which there is an expansion of the aortic region due to the influence of many factors. Pathology can be both congenital and acquired in nature.
The disease begins with the rupture of the inner lining of the vessel under the pressure of the blood stream. Thus, the blood gets the opportunity to flow directly into the muscle layer. In this condition, the patient usually experiences painful discomfort behind the sternum in the left hand. The skin turns pale, the pressure rises, nauseous urges appear. Soaking in blood, the aortic wall gradually stretches. When aneurysm breaks, a person may lose consciousness. In some cases, there is instant death from severe blood loss and shock.
Pathogenesis of the disease
How does an aortic aneurysm develop? What is this pathology, you can understand if you know the anatomy of the main muscle of the human body. The myocardium has thinned walls that constantly bulge out while pumping blood from one ventricle to another. If a person has this disease, wall restriction gradually slows down. This situation makes it difficult to constantly pump blood.
In addition to damage to the walls of the aorta, hemodynamic and mechanical factors also take an active part in the formation of aneurysm. Pathology most often occurs in functionally stressed areas, which constantly experience an increased load due to the high speed of blood flow. Chronic aortic trauma and excessive activity of proteolytic enzymes provoke destruction of the elastic framework and the appearance of non-specific changes of a degenerative nature in the vessel wall.
The resulting aneurysm is constantly increasing in size, since the pressure on its walls only increases. On the other hand, the blood flow in the aneurysmal sac slows down and acquires the so-called turbulent character. Only 45% of the total volume located in the aneurysm itself enters the distal bed. This is due to the fact that blood flows along the walls in its cavity, the central flow is constantly held by the turbulence mechanism and the presence of large quantities of thrombotic masses.
Causes of pathology
Scientists from all over the world continue to actively study a disease such as aortic aneurysm of the heart, what it is and what factors lead to its development. Below are just a few of them:
- Atherosclerosis. Sclerotic plaques that form during this disease can affect the walls of the aorta and make them not elastic enough.
- Diseases of an infectious nature. Aortic aneurysm of the heart very often occurs against a background of syphilis or tuberculosis.
- Congenital diseases (Marfan syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos). Often, the history of the appearance of the pathology is monitored by examining the family history.
- Injuries and mechanical damage resulting from car accidents.
- Myocardial infarction. This is the most common cause of the disease. 35% of people who have had myocardial infarction are diagnosed with aneurysm of the heart. In this case, it is perceived as its direct continuation.
The increased risk of aneurysm includes heavy smokers, hypertension, overweight people and with high cholesterol in the blood. According to statistics, heart aortic aneurysm is five times more likely to be diagnosed in males than in women. As a rule, patients are over 50 years old.
Pathology classification
In vascular surgery, several variants of classifications of aortic aneurysms are used, taking into account their immediate localization, wall structure, shape and etiology.
In accordance with the segmental typology distinguish: aneurysms of the Valsalva sinus, ascending / descending department, aortic arch and abdominal aorta.
Assessing the morphological state of the structure of aneurysms allows us to divide them into true and false. The wall of the latter is represented by connective tissue, which is formed due to the formation of a pulsating hematoma.
The shape of the aneurysm can be saccular and spindle-shaped.
What symptoms are accompanied by pathology?
In most cases, the disease is asymptomatic. They diagnose it randomly, most often during preventive examinations or when examining other organs. Complaints in patients appear if the aneurysm is characterized by rapid growth or is already on the eve of the gap.
Aneurysm of the ascending aorta of the heart and its arc is usually accompanied by a vivid clinical picture, the reason for this is the special anatomical location. Pathology can put pressure on the ribs and the thoracic spine. Patients complain of coughing and shortness of breath due to compression of the bronchi, palpitations, hoarseness.
Prolonged burning pain in the back is characteristic of pathologies of the thoracic aorta of the heart. In this case, patients usually notice the appearance of dry cough, swelling, dizziness and weakness throughout the body.
During the diagnostic examination, the doctor should pay special attention to the external characteristics of the person. Lengthening of the palms, high growth, kyphosis, deformation of the sternum - all these signs can indicate Marfan syndrome. We already talked about him in this article.
Unfortunately, very often the first sign of pathology is aortic rupture. It manifests itself with heavy bleeding in the digestive organs. The patient has vomiting with impurities of blood, severe pain behind the sternum, which spreads down the spine. Lack of timely assistance may result in death for the patient.
How to detect aneurysm?
Most often, during the next routine examination, doctors diagnose “heart aortic aneurysm”. What is it, what are the causes of pathology and the main methods of treatment, a specialist should tell at the initial appointment. A more detailed study of the problem may require a number of additional studies, including CT, MRI, and ultrasound. According to the results of the final diagnosis, the doctor receives a complete clinical picture of the disease.
When examining, it is important to take into account the fact that the aneurysm in its symptoms is similar to other ailments. That is why a special role in the diagnosis is given to differential research.
Detection of pathology is also possible with a screening examination. Experts recommend regularly taking it to men after 60 years of age who cannot give up addictions or have a history of this disease.
Heart Aortic Aneurysm: Treatment
Both symptoms and treatment of the disease are directly related. After the doctor confirms the final diagnosis, you can proceed to treatment.
With an asymptomatic course of pathology, therapy is limited to monitoring the condition of the vascular surgeon and constant x-ray control. To reduce the risk of complications, some patients are prescribed anticoagulants.
Surgical intervention is indicated for large aneurysms (more than 4 cm), as well as for progressive growth. Such treatment is recommended for almost all patients who have encountered a pathology called "heart aortic aneurysm."
The operation involves excising the affected area of the vessel, suturing the defect or replacing it with a vascular prosthesis.
Unfortunately, the prognosis for this disease is in most cases unfavorable. Since the onset of the development of aneurysm and within five years, approximately 75% of patients die. Half of them die from a sudden rupture of the aorta, and the rest from concomitant pathologies (stroke, ischemia).
Complications of aneurysm
- Arterial valve defects and heart failure.
- Rupture of aneurysm. In this case, extensive bleeding occurs in the pleural cavity, respiratory organs, heart bag or esophagus. In case of bleeding, cardiac tamponade develops directly in the pericardial cavity .
- Acute thrombosis of aneurysm.
The above complications, if you do not provide timely medical assistance, can result in death for patients with a diagnosis of "cardiac aortic aneurysm." The doctor selects the treatment of this ailment based on the general condition of the patient and the severity of the pathology.
Preventative measures
When it comes to the prevention of such a serious ailment, all recommendations for a healthy lifestyle and giving up addictions must be considered first. As already mentioned, for a long time a cardiac aortic aneurysm can occur in a latent form. Symptoms in this case do not appear, the patient is not aware of the presence of such a pathology. That is why, if a person is at risk (smokes, high blood pressure, there are cases of aortic dissection in the family history), a full diagnostic examination should be regularly performed. For these purposes, ultrasound, aortography using a contrast medium and MRI are usually used. Timely detection of the disease can save a person’s life.
Conclusion
This article provides information on the topic "Cardiac aortic aneurysm: causes, symptoms and treatment." You should not be afraid of this disease, since timely diagnosis and proper treatment in the early stages allow you to almost completely forget about the problem.