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A New Murine Model of Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair
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A New Murine Model of Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair

Published on: July 7, 2013

Aortic atherosclerosis and embolic events

Muhamed Saric1, Itzhak Kronzon

  • 1Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA. muhamed.saric@nyumc.org

Current Cardiology Reports
|March 23, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Aortic plaques, a sign of atherosclerosis, can cause serious embolisms. Management focuses on general atherosclerosis treatment as specific therapies for aortic embolism are lacking.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Vascular Biology

Background:

  • Aortic plaques result from atherosclerosis, characterized by lipid accumulation and inflammation in the aorta.
  • These plaques can lead to thromboemboli and atheroemboli, causing diverse clinical manifestations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the nature of aortic plaques and their embolic potential.
  • To highlight diagnostic modalities and current management strategies for aortic embolism.

Main Methods:

  • Review of the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and aortic plaque formation.
  • Discussion of clinical consequences of aortic embolism.
  • Emphasis on transesophageal echocardiography for diagnosis.

Main Results:

  • Aortic plaques can generate thromboemboli causing large artery occlusion (e.g., stroke) and atheroemboli causing small artery occlusion (e.g., blue toe syndrome, renal insufficiency).
  • Transesophageal echocardiography is the standard for visualizing thoracic aortic plaques.

Conclusions:

  • Aortic embolism is a significant complication of atherosclerosis with varied clinical presentations.
  • Currently, no specific treatments exist for aortic embolism; management relies on controlling underlying atherosclerosis.

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