A76-year-old man was admitted to the intensive care unit with unstable angina pectoris of Braunwald class IIIB. He was known to have hypertension, which was poorly controlled with medication. Physical examination revealed a pulsating mass in the lower abdomen that was suggestive of an aortic aneurysm. An echocardiographic study with a small, hand-held ultrasound device (SonoHeart, SonoSite Inc)...

AN ANEURYSM of the aorta irrespective of its location or its etiology is a serious threat to the patient due to its tendency to enlarge and to the fact that serious complications from rupture, dissection, pressure effects or peripheral embolization from a mural thrombus threaten the life of its victim. The frequency of death from complications has long been known, and Colt in 1927 collected a s...

OBJECTIVES To study the trend in incidence of aneurysms of the abdominal aorta in The Netherlands during the past two decades. SETTING The Dutch population from 1972 to 1992. DESIGN Analysis of all hospital admissions and deaths due to aneurysms of the abdominal aorta. OUTCOME MEASURES Age adjusted and age specific mortality and discharge rates. In-hospital mortality after surgery upon an...

BACKGROUND Statins are not effective in reducing atherosclerotic plaques of the abdominal aorta, and accumulating evidence suggests that bisphosphonates have the potential to induce the regression of atherosclerotic plaques of the abdominal aorta. METHODS AND RESULTS A prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded-end-point trial involving 108 participants with hypercholesterolemia was conduct...

Coarctation of the abdominal aorta constitutes a rare group of vascular abnormalities, including segmental stenoses and extended hypoplasia. Hypertension is the usual solitary clinical finding and contrasts with the diversity of anatomic lesions and surgical techniques used for treatment. It is often difficult to determine whether the lesion is congenital or due to Takayasu's aortitis. Three ca...

PURPOSE We aimed to perform intraindividual comparison of computed tomography (CT) parameters, image quality, and radiation exposure between standard CT angiography (CTA) and high-pitch dual source (DS)-CTA, in subjects undergoing serial CTA of thoracoabdominal aorta. METHODS Eighteen subjects with thoracoabdominal CTA by standard technique and high-pitch DS-CTA technique within 6 months of e...

A 54-year-old male who had been experiencing a high fever for a month was admitted to a local hospital for examination. Computed tomography revealed saccular aneurysms in the descending thoracic aorta and infrarenal abdominal aorta. The walls of the aneurysms were thickened and enhanced by intravenous contrast which suggested the inflammatory change. He was transferred to this hospital and unde...

Blunt abdominal aortic injury is an infrequent occurrence after blunt trauma. The majority of these injuries result from deceleration forces sustained in motor vehicle collisions. Effects of these forces on the thoracic aorta are well described, but associated spinal compression or distraction can also lead to injury of the affixed abdominal aorta. We present a case of multifocal blunt thoracic...

Aneurysms of the aorta are not uncommon, both of the thoracic aorta or the abdominal aorta and may be associated with congenital aortic valve diseases, cystic medial necrosis, Marfan's Syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or atherosclerosis. We report a case of a 46 year old smoker who had developed multiple aneurysms of the aorta in both the thoracic and abdominal parts and was incidentally dia...