Blood vessel swelling hidden “bomb” So, this kind of “time bomb” how to run into the patient’s abdominal cavity inside? Under normal circumstances, the walls of human blood vessels are elastic, but if the arterial walls become diseased, torn and thin, the elastic fibers in them will fail, resulting in the relaxation of the arterial walls. Under the impact of the blood flowing through the artery, the artery locally expands and swells outward, “like a balloon that makes the arterial blood vessel bulge up and forms an aneurysm. And when the diameter of this location reaches 1.5 times the diameter of a normal artery, it becomes an ‘aneurysm’.” It is understood that most aneurysm patients have a history of atherosclerosis, “according to the textbook, the proportion of atherosclerosis in the population with aneurysms is about 12%, and in our hospital this year admitted aneurysm cases, almost all of them have atherosclerosis problems.” Notably, people who smoke also have a high chance of developing aneurysms because the niacin in cigarettes can cause hardening of the arterial walls. In addition, congenital chromosomal abnormalities and inflammatory conditions (such as syphilis) are also causes of aneurysms. Aneurysm rupture can be fatal in half an hour Under the impact of blood flow over the years, the aneurysm will become larger and larger. Generally, when the abdominal aortic aneurysm reaches 3 to 4 cm in diameter, a mass will form in the abdomen due to the compression of the spine, and the patient can feel the mass throbbing around the belly button due to the flow of blood. Other than that, patients usually do not have other symptoms, so it is easy to be ignored. But the danger is that if the abdominal aortic aneurysm continues to grow, the patient will feel pain in the lower back and abdomen, which indicates that the abdominal aortic aneurysm has leaked and is a precursor to rupture. “At this point, if the patient can go to the hospital in time, the success rate of salvage is above 50%.” However, if the patient misses even this opportunity and allows the abdominal aortic aneurysm to continue to develop, then when the aneurysm grows to more than 5 cm in diameter, it will easily rupture in an instant, causing hemorrhage and the patient will most likely die within half an hour. At this point, even if the patient is taken to the hospital immediately, the chances of successful resuscitation are slim. The abdominal aortic aneurysm can be diagnosed by ultrasound only. In the past, the surgical treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysms was to remove the aortic aneurysm and replace the part with an artificial vessel. However, this method requires a caesarean section, a large blood transfusion during the procedure, and a high risk of heart failure. Instead, the method now used is to place an isolated stent in the aortic lumen through a minimally invasive procedure to plug the leakage from the vessel. This method does not require an incision, as a small incision is made at the root of the thigh, and then an abdominal aortic overlay stent is installed in the diseased vessel under precise X-ray positioning, allowing the blood to be rerouted and flow through the stent, thus isolating the aneurysm body. After surgery, the patient’s diseased vessel is no longer under pressure from the blood flowing through it, and the aneurysm will gradually shrink and disappear. Seek early medical attention for a throbbing abdominal mass The incidence of aortic aneurysms has almost doubled a year since 2004. “We admitted eight patients in the first half of this year alone.” However, because the overall incidence remains low, non-specialists are less aware of it and it is not easily taken into account in clinical diagnosis. Since abdominal aortic aneurysms have a very high mortality rate once they rupture, early detection is very important. The abdominal and back pain caused by abdominal aortic aneurysms can be more intense and longer lasting than normal abdominal and back pain, and more importantly, such patients may feel a pulsating mass around the belly button. “If any of these conditions occur, there is a high chance that you have an abdominal aortic aneurysm and you need to seek immediate medical attention from a vascular specialist.”