| Thoracic aortic aneurysm | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
 The thoracic aorta, viewed from the left side. (Image is of structure, not of pathology.) |
|
| ICD-10 | I71.1, I71.2 |
| ICD-9 | 441.1, 441.2 |
| MedlinePlus | 001119 |
| eMedicine | article/761627 article/424904 article/418480 |
| MeSH | [1] |
A thoracic aortic aneurysm is an aortic aneurysm that presents primarily in the thorax.
It is less common than an abdominal aortic aneurysm.[1] However, a syphilitic aneurysm is more likely to be a thoracic aortic aneurysm than an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
It can be caused by blunt injury.[2]
It is sometimes treated with surgery.[3]
Each year in the United States, some 45,000 people die from diseases of the aorta and its branches. Acute aortic dissection, a life-threatening event due to a tear in the aortic wall, affects 5 to 10 patients per million population each year, most often men between the ages of 50 and 70; of those that occur in women younger than 40, nearly half arise during pregnancy. The majority of these deaths occur as a result of complications of thoracic aneurysmal disease. The diagnosis of thoracic aortic aneurysm usually involves patients in the 6th and 7th decades of life. Aneurysms in patients younger than 40 usually involve the ascending aorta due to a weakening of the aortic wall associated with connective tissue disorders like the Marfan and Ehler-Danlos syndromes or congenital bicuspid aortic valve. Younger patients may develop aortic aneurysms of the thoracoabdominal aorta after an aortic dissection. Atherosclerosis is the principal cause of descending aortic aneurysms, while aneurysms of the aortic arch may be due to dissection, atherosclerosis or inflammation. Hypertension and cigarette smoking are the most important risk factors, though the importance of genetic factors has been increasingly recognized. Approximately 10% of patients may have other family members who have aortic aneurysms. The principal causes of death due to thoracic aneurysmal disease are dissection and rupture. Once rupture occurs, the mortality rate is 50-80%, and most deaths in patients with the Marfan syndrome are the result of aortic disease. Descending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm
References
- ^ "Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm: Overview - eMedicine". http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/424904-overview. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ "Aneurysms: Aneurysms and Aortic Dissection: Merck Manual Home Edition". http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec03/ch035/ch035b.html. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ Makaroun MS, Dillavou ED, Kee ST, et al. (January 2005). "Endovascular treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms: results of the phase II multicenter trial of the GORE TAG thoracic endoprosthesis". J. Vasc. Surg. 41 (1): 1–9. doi:. PMID 15696036. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0741521404014855.
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