According to the study, most of the aneurysms have no symptoms unless they rupture. If an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm ruptures then you may experience one or more of the following symptoms and these are:
- You will experience sudden pain in your abdomen or back areas.
- You may have clammy or sweaty skin.
- You feel the pain which spreads from your abdomen or back to your pelvis, legs, or buttocks
- Your heart rate will be increased.
- You may also experience shock or loss of consciousness.
In such conditions, you need to immediately call the doctor as a ruptured aneurysm can be life-threatening.
How Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm can be diagnosed?
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm is not ruptured and can be diagnosed when a doctor is scanning or examining your abdomen for other reasons.
If the doctors at the hospitals under We Care India found that you may have one then they will feel by touching your stomach to see if it’s rigid or contains a pulsing mass. Your doctor will also check the blood flow in your legs by using one of the following tests:
a) CT scan of the abdomen: This is a painless test which provides your doctor with clear images of your aorta, and with the help of this test your doctor is able to detect the size and shape of an aneurysm. During a CT scan, your doctor asks you to lie on a table inside a doughnut-shaped machine. CT scan will generate X-rays which produces cross-sectional images of your body. Your doctor may inject the contrast dye into your blood vessels so that your doctor will able to see your arteries more clearly on the CT pictures.
b) Abdominal ultrasound: This is one of the most commonly used tests which diagnose abdominal aortic aneurysms. In this test, your doctor will ask you to lie on a table and a technician moves a transducer around your abdomen. In this test, ultrasound uses sound waves which send images to a computer screen.
c) MRI: This is a test in which your doctor will ask you to lie on a movable table that slides into a machine. An MRI is a test which uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy and makes pictures of your body. In test also you might have a dye injected into your blood vessels so that your doctor sees the arteries more clearly.
Can an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm be prevented?
No, you cannot always prevent an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm from forming, but with the help of the following steps you can lower down the risk of developing Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and these are:
- If you are a smoker then try to quit smoke.
- Eat healthy food.
- By doing the physical activities regularly will keep you fit.
- Keep yourself healthy and manage your conditions such as high blood pressure which can be controlled with medicines as prescribed by your doctor.
How Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm can be treated?
The main aim of treatment which can be medical monitoring or surgery is to perform to prevent your aneurysm from rupturing. According to your abdomen examination, your doctor will recommend the treatment which depends on the size of the aortic aneurysm and how fast it is growing in your abdomen.
a) Medical monitoring: This is a treatment which is recommended to you by your doctor if your abdominal aortic aneurysm is small and you don’t have symptoms. You need to visit regularly for the check-up if your aneurysm is growing, and you need the treatment to manage other medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, which could worsen your aneurysm.
b) Surgery: Your doctor will recommend surgery if the size of your aneurysm is 1.9 to 2.2 inches or larger then this or if your aneurysm growing quickly. Also, your doctor will recommend surgery if there are symptoms such as stomach pain or you have a leaking, tender or painful aneurysm.
Your doctor will recommend surgery depending on several factors which include the location and size of the aneurysm, your age, and other conditions which includes the following:
• Open abdominal surgery: This is a procedure in which your doctor will remove your damaged section of the aorta and replace it with a synthetic tube which is sewn into place. Full recovery after this procedure will take place in a month or more.
• Endovascular repair: This is a less invasive procedure in which you’re the doctors at the hospitals under We Care India will attach a synthetic graft to the end of a thin tube and inserted that tube through an artery in your leg and threaded into your aorta.
Your doctor will cover the woven tube by a metal mesh support and placed at the site of the aneurysm, which will be expanded and fastened in place. It helps to weaken the section of the aorta to prevent rupture of the aneurysm.
According to the study, endovascular surgery is not the option for all the people with an aneurysm. To have the best results of after endovascular surgery you need to have regular imaging tests to ensure that the repair is not leaking out.
The survival rates in the long-term for both endovascular surgery and open surgery are similar.
What are the risk factors for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm?
The risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm is increased and continues to expand if remain untreated and at the end eventually bursts which is known as rupture. This usually leads to death. The biggest risk factor for an abdominal aortic aneurysm is smoking. The other risk factors of abdominal aortic aneurysm in males can be their advanced age and a history of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the family. The family history of abdominal aortic aneurysm not only increases the risk of the aneurysm but also it increases the chance of earlier formation and rupture. According to the study, this risk seems to be high when a male sibling is involved, but it is higher when a female sibling is involved.
