Aortic Aneurysm

Traditionally, patients with aortic aneurysms are usually offered higher risk conventional open-heart surgeries. Generally, intervention is recommended for aortic aneurysms that are larger than 5.5cm or growing at a fast rate.

Doctors may surgically remove the aneurysm and replace the weakened portion of the aorta with a synthetic graft if the aneurysm is at risk of rupturing, usually when the aneurysm grows beyond a threshold size. This threshold varies depending on the location of the aneurysm. 

However, an open surgery is not suitable for everyone. The conventional open surgery to treat the aortic aneurysm before it ruptures may be associated with risks of morbidity and death. It is also not suitable for high-risk patients with diabetes and heart conditions.

With the emergence of minimally invasive procedures, such as the thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) procedure, there is other alternative to conventional open-heart surgery for selected groups of patients, such as those with aortovascular conditions and are elderly or frail and have a number of medical conditions, as well as those who were previously not recommended for any intervention due to health conditions.

The larger an aneurysm becomes, the more likely it will burst. Doctors will prescribe oral medications, such as beta blockers to reduce the force of blood pressure against the weakened artery wall. In general, high blood pressures will be aggressively treated.