THOMAS RILES, MD: After they reach a certain size, the walls become so weak that they can rupture and bleed.
Only about 25 percent of individuals survive a ruptured aneurysm. Usually the bleeding is internal; it's so rapid that most individuals can't survive.
ANNOUNCER: Aortic aneurysms are more common in men than in women and are usually seen in people over the age of fifty. Additional risk factors include a family history of aneurysms, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries and smoking.
One of the main reasons that aortic aneurysms have such a high mortality rate is that in most cases there are no recognizable symptoms. In fact, most aneurysms are found by accident through a physical exam, such as an annual physical, or by an ultrasound or CAT scan being performed for some other reason. Once an aneurysm is detected the choice of treatment depends on its size.
THOMAS RILES, MD: Generally, aneurysms that are less than 5 centimeters, the chance of rupture is very, very small, perhaps maybe 1 in 500.
Most of us will not recommend surgery, but will recommend that the patient have serial measurements over the next year or two. The rationale here is that most of the treatments are probably at a higher risk than the risk of the rupture. Once the aneurysm is larger than 5 centimeters, then we start talking about treatment options, which is usually some sort of a surgical procedure to replace the weakened blood vessel with a new synthetic graft that will act as their new aorta.
