People often talk about “tumors” and equate them with incurable diseases. With the development of medical information technology and the increase of people’s awareness of self-care, people’s concern and understanding of various “tumors” are increasing. However, people have heard little about arterial aneurysms and know little about them. In fact, the incidence of aneurysm is not low, the incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm alone has reached 2% to 7% in people over 50 years old, the famous physicist Albert Einstein and China’s geology “titan” Li Siguang have also suffered from this disease. Statistics in recent years show that the incidence of aneurysms has been on the rise, and the study of the aneurysm family has become a very hot topic in vascular medicine. So, what exactly is an aneurysm? An aneurysm is a dilated disease of the arteries, and although it is called an aneurysm, it is not a tumor in the traditional sense. It is not a solid enlargement caused by cell proliferation, but rather a localized enlargement of the vessel due to degeneration of the arterial wall. For example, the normal diameter of the human abdominal aorta is 1.8-2.0 cm, but when various factors cause the caliber of the abdominal aorta to expand more than 1.5 times the normal, it is called an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Therefore, aneurysm has the appearance of “aneurysm” but not the reality of “aneurysm”. How is an aortic aneurysm formed? When the environment inside the pipeline changes, such as the water quality becomes bad and the pressure inside the pipeline changes, the pipeline is bound to be eroded and damaged to different degrees, then when the blood in the artery is abnormal or the blood pressure increases, the wall structure of the artery will also be damaged. For example, patients with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes have varying degrees of vascular lesions, like atherosclerosis, arteritis, and so on. The reason for this is that these risk factors promote the degradation or damage of certain substances in the arterial wall, as if it were a rubber tube without elastic support, and the diseased vessel wall can only passively expand mechanically in the face of strong blood pressure, but is unable to retract, gradually forming an enlarged aneurysm. The above situation can occur in any large artery segment, and when the expansion exceeds the limit of the aneurysm wall, the aneurysm will rupture and cause hemorrhage. Therefore, people with abnormal blood composition, high blood pressure, and older people with aging blood vessels should be more aware of the occurrence of aneurysms. Specifically, people with high blood lipids, high blood sugar, high blood viscosity, high blood pressure, high age (>50 years old), high work pressure, and low exercise are at high risk of aneurysm, especially middle-aged and elderly people who are addicted to smoking and alcohol. Aneurysms have such a huge potential population, but why do they not attract enough attention? The reason is that aneurysms are relatively low-key, always developing quietly, and most of them do not cause obvious symptoms, so they are often overlooked. A significant number of patients with aneurysms are discovered by chance during physical examinations or during examinations of other organs in the abdomen. The facts tell us that what is “latent” is always dangerous. When patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms present with significant abdominal pain, the aneurysm has often expanded to compress adjacent organs or tissues, and surgical intervention is the only effective means of control; if there is sudden and severe abdominal pain, this is likely a precursor to aneurysm rupture and requires emergency surgery to prevent and stop hemorrhage. The sudden rupture of an aneurysm after a pre-insidious one often takes people by surprise and catches them off guard, and 1/3 of patients die of blood loss on the way to the hospital. Therefore, it is especially important to pay attention to aneurysms and to do early prevention and detection of aneurysms. Prevention of aneurysm is to control the related risk factors affecting its occurrence, and early prevention can be done through the following three aspects. First, control your mouth, i.e., quit smoking and drinking, and eat a reasonable diet. The damage to blood vessels from smoking and alcohol abuse is extensive and long-lasting. Nicotine in cigarettes and excessive alcohol can stimulate the body’s autonomic nerves, causing blood vessels to spasm and leading to increased blood pressure, and both can also affect lipid metabolism and accelerate vascular hardening. Therefore, to maintain a healthy blood vessels, quit smoking and alcohol is imperative. In addition, long-term unscientific diet, such as often eat high-fat food, picky eating or overeating, will directly or indirectly affect the normal development of blood vessels. It is important to know that balanced and reasonable nutrition is the guarantee of young blood vessels. Therefore, it is necessary to develop scientific eating habits. Especially for middle-aged and elderly people over 50 years old, we should strictly control the intake of fat, it is better to have three meals regularly and quantitatively, and eat more foods that help blood vessels to be young, such as cabbage, celery, spinach, sweet potatoes, apples, grapes, sardines and so on. In addition, for people with hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and other medical conditions, it is important to actively control these underlying diseases to prevent the occurrence of atherosclerosis. Secondly, control your heart, that is, quit anger and relax your spirit. The impact of emotional and psychological factors on blood vessels should not be underestimated. Mental tension can cause the contraction of the human vascular lining and accelerate the aging of blood vessels. Long-term stressful work, overwork, as well as impatient, irritable people tend to get “old” on the body, become a high incidence of cerebrovascular disease. Therefore, when working to pay attention to the combination of work and rest, tight and loose. In a sense, rest is also a way of work, timely rest brings health benefits, far greater than the economic benefits of overtime work. In addition, it is important to keep your mood as relaxed as possible, avoid emotional excitement, and create a relaxed atmosphere for the growth of blood vessels. “Smile, a decade less”, this “less” naturally includes blood vessels. Finally, move their legs more, that is, to carry out appropriate physical exercise. Research shows that physical exercise can improve the body’s high-density lipoprotein levels, the latter can be transported to the liver in time to metabolize the fat in the blood, to prevent the occurrence of atherosclerosis. Moreover, exercise can also promote the formation of microcirculation and improve the tolerance of the body. Therefore, it is best to exercise for half an hour every day, such as walking, swimming, climbing, etc. And moderate exercise before meals will have a better effect on the protection of blood vessels. One study found that taking a longer walk before enjoying a rich and greasy meal can effectively reduce the damage of fat on blood vessel function. In addition to active early prevention, it is also advisable to have regular health checkups to help with early detection of abdominal aortic aneurysms. Especially for people over 50 years old with obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and long-term lack of exercise, regular vascular ultrasound should be performed. Ultrasound can detect aneurysms over 3 cm in diameter and can give early indication in a timely manner. Although aneurysm is not a real tumor, once it becomes powerful, it often kills people. Therefore, we should pay attention to it actively, pay attention to it like a tumor, be alert to it, do a good job in its early prevention and early detection, prevent it before it happens, control it in the bud, and maintain the health of human life passages smoothly!