Health: Aneurysm

 Aneurysm is a localised swelling of the wall of an artery, which may be due to a disease process, as in Syphilis , a degenerative disease like atherosclerosis or to a congenital defect in the arterial wall. Most congenital aneurysms are found in the brain, where there is a danger that they will burst and cause a cerebral haemorrhage, but the most common aneurysms are aortic or ventricular.

How it affects: An aortic aneurysm affects the aorta, or main artery of the body. A degenerative disease weakens the muscular lining of the aorta, allowing the blood to force the wall out in a balloon-like swelling. The aneurysm may burst , or alternatively kill nearby tissues by squashing the blood vessels that supply them. A Ventricular aneurysm may form in the left ventricle of the heart around the weakened heart muscle left by a heart attack and may lead to heart failure. Surgical treatment is needed for both types of aneurysm. Aortic aneurysm , a blood filled enlargement of a weakened section of the main artery , can be fatal and it is necessary to diagnose the condition to avoid fatality. If an aneurysm over 5 cm is likely to, it can cause death within three minutes. Aneurysms can also form a blood clot and disrupt blood flow to various parts of the body. Sometimes blood can enter the wall of the aorta producing separation of the wall, leading to a medical emergency. It is important for patients to be taken to a specialised centre early enough to intervention to work. Cardiologists, specialists in Vascular surgery can be of great help. However, awareness about this largely non-symptomatic condition is pretty low. There is probably chest pain or abdominal pain(depending on where the aneurysm is located) and  a basic chest X-Ray or abdominal CT has to be taken for ruling out the aneurysm. While atherosclerosis(thickening of the arteries) and congenital conditions are said to be the main causes, the preventable causative factors are high blood pressure, blood sugar and smoking . Keeping the blood pressure and diabetes under control and giving up smoking would lessen the chances of getting an aneurysm. The condition is most commonly seen in aged males who are prone to atherosclerosis.