Aortic Rupture Dangerous aneurysm often goes unnoticed

Physicians warn about the life-threatening risks of an aortic tear

01/11/2011

Arteries extensions (aneurysms) are known in the art as „Silent killer“ known who strike without real warning and can have fatal consequences for patients. With the help of improved early detection, the risks could be significantly reduced in the opinion of medical professionals.

Ultrasound examinations could help to determine the disease risk of the aorta at an early stage and to initiate corresponding countermeasures, the experts of the German Heart Center in Munich report in advance of the first Munich aortic conference on diseases of the main artery next weekend.

Like Professor Hans-Henning Eckstein of the Clinic for Vascular Surgery of the Klinikum rechts der Isar talking to the news agency „dpa“ reported, aneurysms are one of the main reasons for the sudden rupture of the aorta. Where a crack of the largest vein in the human body usually has fatal consequences. Aortic aneurysm, however, according to the expert „Not only the main artery itself, but also many other vital organs such as heart, coronary vessels, brain, spinal cord digestive organs and kidneys.“ In order to minimize the risk of a fatal aortic rupture, the physicians of the German Heart Center in Munich are pleading for a clear expansion of the aneurysm check-ups. Because the aneurysms are detected early, can be a crack of „Main street in the human body“, Often avoided, explained the vascular surgeon Eckstein.

Arteries extensions as „Silent killer“
According to the experts of the German Heart Center, the spread of diseases with aortic damage has increased significantly in recent years, with pathological enlargements of the aorta (aneurysms) accounting for the largest share. The problem is, according to the vascular surgeon Professor Eckstein, that the arterial enlargement usually runs without symptoms. The patients „do not feel it, that's the perfidious“, Eckstein explained the reputation of aneurysms as „Silent killer“. Morbid aortic dilatation is often recognized only in the course of routine examinations, whereby due to the long path of the aorta through the body different medical disciplines deal with their illnesses. An increased risk of aneurysm thereby subject, according to the medical profession, men over the age of 65 years, especially if they are smokers. Accordingly, it is „the best medicine to quit smoking“, emphasized Professor Eckstein. For smokers or ex-smokers, according to the experts, have a particularly high risk that their aorta ruptures. As a sign of an aortic tear describes the vascular surgeon „severe abdominal pain or backache, sweating“ and a drop in blood pressure. This could be the crack „happen at any time of the day“ and need not necessarily be caused by a special physical stress, said Eckstein. According to the expert, around 30,000 patients a year in Germany require medical treatment for aortic disease, with surgery usually being necessary in most cases.

Screening reduces the risk of an aortic tear
Improved medical check-ups, however, could significantly reduce the risk of life-threatening aortic diseases, say physicians at the German Heart Center in Munich. For example, with the help of a timely ultrasound examination, risk factors such as aneurysms could be detected early. A corresponding „screening“ is widespread, for example, in the UK or the US, stressed the vascular surgeon Professor Eckstein. In Germany, such health check-ups are not yet taken over by the health insurance, criticized the expert. With the approximately 30-euro-expensive investigation, the risk of an aortic tear could be significantly reduced, but „Unfortunately we are not there yet“, emphasized Professor Eckstein. According to the physicians of the German Heart Center in Munich, on the one hand, the policy is required on the one hand to ensure that the health insurers cover the costs, on the other hand, the family doctors should offer their patients an increasing number of appropriate check-ups.

Recommended treatment by experienced vascular and cardiac surgeons
If surgery is required, the expert advises the patient to consult with experienced vascular or cardiac surgeons and in any case obtain a second opinion. After all, the risk of surgery on the aorta should not be underestimated, according to Professor Eckstein. Around five percent of patients in Germany die each year directly during the procedure or the consequences of the aortic operation, the vascular surgeon emphasized. Patients should therefore seek out facilities where such interventions „often done“Eckstein explained. The Clinic for Vascular Surgery of the Klinikum rechts der Isar and the Clinic for Cardiovascular Surgery of the German Heart Center Munich have already founded the Munich Center for Aortic Diseases (MCA) of the Technical University of Munich in May with the aim of achieving this goal „to intensify the interdisciplinary treatment of diseases of the aorta.“ Here, cardiac and vascular surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, cardiologists and nephrologists work closely together to understand the complex clinical pictures of the aorta such as congenital malformations (eg narrowing stenoses), acquired diseases (eg aneurysms) and splitting of the layers of the aorta Vascular wall (dissections) to treat the best possible. The first Munich aortic conference on 4 and 5 November will also initiate an exchange between the expected two to three hundred participating international experts in order to further improve treatment in the future. (Fp)