Abdominal Vs Thoracic Aneurysm
Abdominal :typically infrarenal
Etiology
-smoking ( most important risk factor )
-atherosclerosis
Clinical features pulsatile abdominal mass bruit on auscultation * lower back pain
Recall: All men above 65 who have smoked or are still smokers always screened for AAA
Thoracic aneurysm : typically in ascending aorta
Etiology : - arterial hypertension - connective tissue disorders - syphillis
Clinical features : * thoracic back pain * feeling of pressure in the chest * may lead to compression of local structures like recurrent laryngeal nerve and esophagus
NOT MARFAN: True abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in patients with Marfan syndrome is relatively rare because most aortic aneurysms in this disease are dissecting aneurysms in the thoracic area.
Given the diagnosis of AAA, why did he have syncope? I was first thinking it was from rupture, but his blood pressure is not hypotensive, so how could he get syncope from that.
Or maybe the AAA was compressing the inferior vena cava, causing syncope?
What's all that anechoic stuff on the left side of the CT?
Image shows Crescent Sign, a common finding in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms due to mural thrombus occlusion.
submitted by โhappysingh(57)
http://www.lumen.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/Radio/curriculum/Surgery/aneurysm2.htm
hope this helps everyone, even the ones that just "like" everything