Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Symptoms. Patients may present with thoracic aortic 'dissecting' aneurysms, either due to acute or chronic degeneration. Hypotension (low blood pressure). Nausea. The principal causes of death due to thoracic aneurysmal disease are dissection and rupture.Once rupture occurs, the mortality rate is 50-80%. Median follow-up period was 2.06 years for CM patients and 1.35 years for others. Bacterial infections, which are a risk factor for thoracic aortic aneurysms. As an abdominal aortic aneurysm enlarges, you may notice: A pulsating feeling near the navel Deep, constant pain in your abdomen or on the side of your abdomen Back pain If you have any of these signs and symptoms, such as sudden severe back or abdominal pain, get help immediately. In reply to @sofaramnotdead "Thanks. Difficulty breathing if it pushes on your trachea, or windpipe Feeling full after not eating very much Hoarseness Pain in the neck, jaw, back, chest, stomach area or shoulder, depending on where the aneurysm is located A pulsating or throbbing feeling in your stomach area Shortness of breath if the aneurysm presses on your lung Descending thoracic aortic aneurysm: typically a result of atherosclerosis. If thoracic aortic aneurysms are severe enough to cause symptoms, you may experience severe chest or back pain, shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, numbness or weakness in one or both arms, and loss of consciousness or low blood pressure. An aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition that develops when there is a split in one or more layers of the aortic artery wall, which can be caused by a ruptured aneurysm. At size greater than 6.0 cm, the odds ratio for rupture was increased 27-fold . Signs and symptoms that a thoracic aortic aneurysm has ruptured or dissected include: Sharp, sudden pain in the upper back that spreads downward Pain in the chest, jaw, neck or arms Difficulty breathing Low blood pressure Loss of consciousness Shortness of breath Trouble swallowing Some aneurysms will never rupture or lead to dissection. Because aortic aneurysms develop slowly over years, doctors discover most of them before they tear open or leak blood. If the aorta bursts, it can cause serious bleeding that can quickly lead to death. The most common symptom is general belly pain or discomfort, which may come and go or be constant. If thoracic aortic aneurysms are severe enough to cause symptoms, you may experience severe chest or back pain, shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, numbness or weakness in one or both arms, and loss of consciousness or low blood pressure. People over the age of 65 or those with heart diseases are at the highest risk of getting an ATAA. The thoracic aorta is further divided into 3 parts: ascending, arch and descending. The symptoms of aortic dissection include: a sudden, severe pain across the chest, often felt in the back or between the shoulder blades pain in the jaw, face, abdomen, back or lower extremities feeling cold, clammy and sweaty fainting and shortness of breath. (3):677-83. Thoracic aortic aneurysms can cause aortic dissection (splitting of the aortic wall) and aortic rupture, leading to life-threatening internal bleeding. Aortic aneurysms may develop anywhere along the aorta that runs from the heart through your chest and the abdomen. laminar blood flow turbulence. With an aortic aneurysm, my understanding is that there are no symptoms that a patient would be aware of. hoarseness. They're often discovered by accident, when a chest X-ray or other screening reveals a bulge in the aorta. Symptoms of a thoracic aneurysm may include: Pain in the jaw, neck, or upper back Pain in the chest or back Wheezing, coughing, or shortness of breath as a result of pressure on the trachea (windpipe) Hoarseness as a result of pressure on the vocal cords Trouble swallowing due to pressure on the esophagus Summarize the evaluation findings in a patient with a thoracic aortic aneurysm. Some ascending aortic aneurysms never rupture or cause any noticeable symptoms. Both smoking and B.P or blood pressure have a severe effect on the development of an aortic aneurysm. Additionally, it further depends on the overall health of the patient, the age, the gender, the value of B.P or blood pressure, and smoking habits. A thoracic aortic aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of the aorta. Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) may be discovered incidentally during imaging studies or a routine physical examination as a pulsatile abdominal mass. Often there are no symptoms, especially if the aneurysm is small. As a result, most thoracic aortic aneurysms are diagnosed incidentally when someone undergoes a CT scan for some other reason. Obesity. Symptoms of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms Hoarseness Trouble swallowing Swelling in your neck Pain in your chest or upper back Nausea and vomiting Rapid heart rate Thoracic aortic aneurysms often do not cause any symptoms and they usually develop slowly over time. Because the section with the aneurysm is overstretched and weak, it can burst. It carries blood from your heart up to your head and arms and down to your abdomen, legs, and pelvis. A descending thoracic aortic aneurysm is a bulging, weakened area in the wall of the aorta, in the part that runs downward through the chest (thorax). The split or tear enables blood to seep between the aortic wall's three layers, which can eventually lead to aortic . An extremely sharp and severe pain may indicate rupture, requiring emergency medical treatment. Pain may also be felt in the chest and arms. An aneurysm is a localized dilation or a bulge in the blood vessel due to weakening of the vessel wall. [citation needed]Causes. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. A thoracic aortic aneurysm can also be termed as . Acute dissection is often rapidly fatal, especially if there is retrograde dissection to the coronary arteries. Aneurysm of the thoracic aorta is less common than in the abdominal aorta, but it is clinically important because of the risk of rupture and death. Kidney conditions, such as renal failure, chronic kidney disease, and polycystic kidney disease. Besides pain, increased sweating, a fast heart rate, rapid breathing, dizziness, and shock may occur. Inflammation and proteolytic degeneration of connective tissue proteins; (e.g., collagen and elastin) and/or smooth muscle cells in high-risk patients loss of structural integrity of the aortic wall widening of the vessel. Thoracic aortic aneurysms often go unnoticed because patients rarely feel any symptoms. Symptoms of a thoracic aortic aneurysm include: An aneurysm may occur because of a localized weakness of the artery wall (saccular). When a weak area of your thoracic aorta expands or bulges, it is called a thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). Maximum aneurysm diameter was in the descending . Not all people with ascending aortic aneurysms will experience symptoms, even when the bulge is large. Pheochromocytoma. They develop following trauma or due to erosion of an atherosclerotic ulcerated plaque. Abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture is most commonly presented in a classic triad of symptoms, seen in about one half of patients: Abdominal or back pain, which is sudden, sharp and severe. The walls . shortness of breath. An aortic aneurysm (say "a-OR-tik AN-yuh-rih-zum") is a bulge in a section of the aorta, the body's main artery. It may spread to the groin, buttocks, or legs. At the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute, cardiothoracic and vascular . Enlargement of the aorta may be only mild in degree (ectasia). By the time there are, my guess is that the ruptured aorta would be potentially fatal. Thoracic aortic pseudoaneurysm is an aortic rupture contained by the thin layer of adventitia. While symptoms of an aortic aneurysm generally aren't noticeable, a person may experience pain in the jaw, chest, and upper back, or have swallowing and breathing difficulties, due to the aneurysm's effect on neighboring nerves and blood vessels. I don't see any way that the patient could get to the operating room in time. Most thoracic aortic aneurysms develop slowly over time and can remain remarkably asymptomatic until they actually leak, tear or rupture, which is often an emergency. And it often flies under doctors' radar, in part because no single medical specialty lays claim to the aorta as it passes through the chest, leaving it in a sort of medical limbo. You might not know if you have an aortic aneurysm. The fist two figures in the illustration below show two types of thoracic aortic aneurysm, an ascending . Symptoms of a Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm. Sometimes, aneurysms don't have any symptoms at all. Symptoms of a ruptured or dissected thoracic aortic aneurysm Sudden, sharp, severe pain in your upper back or between your shoulder blades Pain in your chest, jaw, neck or arms Difficulty breathing or coughing Some people feel symptoms as the aneurysm gets bigger. A dissection can result in life-threatening bleeding or sudden death. When they happen in the chest, they are known as thoracic aortic aneurysms. Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs) are usually found incidentally after chest radiographs or other imaging studies. Many people have no symptoms and don't know they have an aortic aneurysm until it ruptures, which is often quickly fatal. This process is called a dissection. For aneurysms greater than 6 cm in diameter, rupture occurred at 3.7% per year, rupture or dissection at 6.9% per year, death at 11.8%, and death, rupture, or dissection at 15.6% per year. Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysms extend from the chest to the abdomen. Feeling of fullness after minimal food intake. Symptoms, when they do occur, include pain in the back or near the naval. The main sign of an abdominal aneurysm is pain in the back, legs and buttocks. It's also often monitored on an annual basis to assess for growth. Thoracic aortic disease is a stealth condition. The symptomatic presentation may be due to mass effect on airway or esophagus. Thoracic aortic aneurysms often go unnoticed because patients rarely feel any symptoms. Cases are often found incidentally. Methods and Results Of 3247 patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm registered in our institutional Thoracic Aortic Center Database, we identified and reviewed 257 nonsyndromic patients (age, 72.410.5 years; 143 female) with descending thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm without a history of aortic dissection in whom surgical intervention was not undertaken. A thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm is one that is located in the area where the aorta crosses between the chest and abdomen. Describe the importance of improving care coordination among interprofessional teams to improve outcomes for patients presenting with thoracic aortic aneurysms. The prognosis or outcome depends on the size of an aortic aneurysm and its location. Antegrade dissection can lead to renal, mesenteric, or lower limb ischaemia. A sudden rupture of an aortic aneurysm may be life threatening and is a medical emergency; top Symptoms of a thoracic aortic aneurysm. Aortic aneurysms are typically found during physicals at a doctor's office. Aortic aneurysms can dissect or rupture: The force of blood pumping can split the layers of the artery wall, allowing blood to leak in between them. Some people describe the following symptoms of an aortic aneurysm: A pulsating bulge or a strong pulse in the abdomen. But there are things you can and should do to maintain a healthy lifestyle and take preventive measures while your aneurysm is monitored.