AIMS Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) is potentially life-threatening and requires close follow-up to prevent aortic dissection. Aortic stiffness and size are considered to be coupled. Regional aortic stiffness in patients with TAA is unknown. We aimed to evaluate coupling between regional pulse wave velocity (PWV), a marker of vascular stiffness, and aortic diameter in TAA patients. METHODS In...

BACKGROUND End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is strongly associated with arterial calcification of the tunica media, decreased vascular compliance and sudden cardiac death. Here, we analysed the distribution pattern of uraemic media calcification and concomitant inflammation in mice and men. METHODS Uraemia was induced in DBA/2 mice with high-phosphate diet. Subsequently, we analysed arterial me...

BACKGROUND Adverse aortic remodeling, such as dilation, is associated with multiple cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. We sought to determine whether measures of enlarged aortic diameters improve prediction of incident adverse CVD events above standard CVD risk factors in a community-dwelling cohort. METHODS AND RESULTS Participants from the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation C...

OBJECTIVE To describe the fate of the false lumen remaining in the descending thoracic aorta after extensive primary repair of the thoracic aorta by the modified elephant trunk technique with a stent graft for acute type A aortic dissection, particularly the changes of the false lumen on enhanced CT scanning. METHODS The subjects were 65 consecutive patients who received arch replacement with...

we report the case of a three-year-old girl who complained from dysphagia and post-prandial vomiting since she was 6months old. several diagnostic work-ups were performed for her problem. upper gi endoscopy was normal but barium swallow revealed an external pressure effect over upper part of the esophagus (figure 1) and the ct angiography of thoracic aorta showed that this external pressure eff...

BACKGROUND Thoracic aortic rupture and aortopulmonary fistulation are rare conditions in horses. It mainly affects Friesian horses. Intrinsic differences in biomechanical properties of the aortic wall might predispose this breed. The biomechanical and biochemical properties of the thoracic aorta were characterized in warmblood horses, unaffected Friesian horses and Friesians with aortic rupture...

Complex lesions of the thoracic aorta are traditionally treated in 2 surgical steps with the elephant trunk technique. A relatively new approach is the frozen elephant trunk (FET) technique, which potentially allows combined lesions of the thoracic aorta to be treated in a 1-stage procedure combining endovascular treatment with conventional surgery using a hybrid prosthesis. These are very comp...

C omputed tomography angiography (CTA) of the thoracic aorta has benefited greatly from the advent of multidetector computerized tomography (MDCT). Three-dimensional reconstruction of large datasets allows easy evaluation of pathological changes of the aorta. This improvement coincides with changes in treating thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs) because accurate preoperative assessment is critical...

The influence of estradiol upon incorporation of isotopes into the sulfated acid mucopolysaccharides of connective tissues of the rat has been studied. Administration of the hormone for 3 weeks significantly reduces the in vitro incorporation of S(35)-sulfate into cartilage and thoracic aorta without significantly altering the amount of hydrolyzable sulfate in these tissues. The reduction of su...

We report the case of a 71-year-old female with mega-aorta extending from the ascending aorta to the descending aorta, who was successfully treated with a one-stage total thoracic aortic repair by the frozen elephant trunk technique using a stent-graft. We used a home-made frozen elephant trunk with four giant-turco Z-stents on the distal side that was inserted into the downstream descending ao...