Related Experiment Videos
Combined thoracic aortic dissection and abdominal aortic fusiform aneurysm
1Surgery Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|September 1, 1991
Summary
Aortic dissection (AD) can occur with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). In older patients with suspected AAA rupture, rule out proximal AD, as it’s a more likely cause of collapse.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Vascular Surgery
- Pathology
Background:
- Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and aortic dissections (AD) are serious vascular conditions.
- Co-occurrence of AAA and AD presents diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe clinical and autopsy findings in patients with both AAA and AD.
- To clarify the relationship between AAA and AD, particularly in cases of suspected rupture.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 13 patients with concurrent AAA and AD.
- Analysis of clinical diagnoses, autopsy findings, and surgical interventions.
Main Results:
- All 13 patients exhibited severe, extensive aortic atherosclerosis.
- In two cases, AAA resection revealed a more proximal, ruptured AD.
- Aortic dissection was more frequently the cause of cardiovascular collapse than AAA rupture.
Conclusions:
- Aortic dissection occurs in a subset of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms.
- Clinicians should consider and rule out proximal aortic dissection in older patients presenting with suspected abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture.
- Aortic dissection is a more probable cause of cardiovascular collapse when both conditions are present.