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Thoracic aortic aneurysm - Symptom

Alternative Names

Aortic aneurysm - thoracic; Syphilitic aneurysm; Aneurysm - thoracic aortic

Symptoms:

Most patients have no symptoms until the aneurysm begins to leak or expand. Chest or back pain may mean sudden widening or leakage of the aneurysm.

Signs and tests:

The physical examination is often normal. Most non-leaking thoracic aortic aneurysms are detected by tests -- usually a chest x-ray or a chest CT scan -- run for other reasons. A chest x-ray and chest CT scan show if the aorta is enlarged. A chest CT scan shows the size of the aorta and the exact location of the aneurysm.

An aortogram (a special set of x-ray images made when dye is injected into the aorta) can identify the aneurysm and any branches of the aorta that may be involved.

Heart, section through the middle

Aortic rupture, chest X-ray

Reviewed last on: 5/15/2008
Robert A. Cowles, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Safi HJ, Estrera AL, Miller III CC, Azizzadeh A, Porat EE. Thoracic Vasculature with Emphasis on the Thoracic Aorta. In: Townsend JR CM, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL. Townsend: Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:chap 63.

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