Abdominal aortic aneurysm

When the abdominal aorta dilates at one point and forms a bulge with a diameter of more than 2 cm, it is called an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Most aneurysms go undetected because they don't cause symptoms. If the aneurysms are larger than 5 cm in diameter, back and abdominal pain can be warning signs.

The natural aging process causes a loss of elasticity in the blood vessel walls, which can promote the development of an aneurysm. High blood pressure and hardened arteries can also contribute as causes.

Risk factors                               

• Smoking is one of the main risk factors                               
• High blood pressure
• elevated blood lipids                                  
• genetic predisposition                                 
• Gender – Men are more likely to develop an aneurysm than women.                              

The treatment of an aneurysm depends on its size, tendency to enlarge, and shape. If there is a high risk of an aneurysm rupturing (in men > 5cm / in women > 4.5cm), surgery is the only option.

Either an open surgery is performed via an abdominal incision (placement of a synthetic graft), or a stent graft is inserted via an endovascular procedure through a small incision in the artery in the groin and placed in the aneurysm.