{"id":12050,"date":"2019-05-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/condition-heart-failure-bulge-in-torso-aortic-aneurysm\/"},"modified":"2019-05-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T00:00:00","slug":"condition-heart-failure-bulge-in-torso-aortic-aneurysm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/condition-heart-failure-bulge-in-torso-aortic-aneurysm\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bulge in This Man's Stomach Turned Out to Be a Condition That Could Have Killed Him"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re guessing that when this patient went to the ER because of persistent abdominal bloating and constipation over the previous two months, he had no idea the cause was a dangerous aortic aneurysm measuring 11 by 10.5 by 14 centimeters.<\/p>\n

But what exactly is an aortic aneurysm, and how does it happen? And what does it mean for the patient, besides bloating and constipation?<\/p>\n

According to the American Heart Association<\/a>, an aortic aneurysm is a “weakened or bulging area on the wall of the aorta, which may occur anywhere along its length.” In other words it’s essentially a ballooning of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. (It runs from the heart down into the abdomen.)<\/p>\n

Two scary complications can occur as a result of an aortic aneurysm. The aneurysm could rupture, causing blood to leak elsewhere in your body. Or, something called a dissection could occur. “The blood pumped forcefully through the aorta can split the layers of the artery wall, allowing a build-up of blood to continually leak into the space,” the American Heart Association explains.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, it sounds like the patient featured in the new case report was very lucky he sought medical care when he did. A physical exam revealed a painless, pulsating mass in the man’s abdomen, his doctors wrote, and he was diagnosed using a technology called tomographic angiography.<\/p>\n

“The patient underwent surgery, during which the aneurysm was exposed and replaced with an aortobiiliac graft,” the report says. (A graft is a piece of live tissue transplanted into a patient by way of surgery.) At a 6-month follow-up visit, the mass was gone, the patient had good blood circulation throughout his body, and most importantly, he felt better.<\/p>\n

Aortic aneurysms are usually treated one of two ways, according to the American Heart Association. The first is through a surgical operation, the goal of which is to replace or fix the injured part of the aorta. The second is via medications that can lower a person’s blood pressure and reduce the risk of their aneurysm rupturing.<\/p>\n

If you’ve felt a little bloated recently, you shouldn’t worry—aortic aneurysms are very rare. There are only 5 to 10 per every 100,000 people in the United States, according to Columbia University Irving Medical Center<\/a>. If you continuously feel bloated over a long period of time, though, it can’t hurt to talk to your doctor about it.<\/p>\n