OBJECTIVE Abdominal aortic aneurysm is an inflammatory disease leading to destructive vascular remodeling and ultimately to lethal aortic rupture. Despite its frequent association with atherosclerosis, compelling studies have shown striking differences and potentially opposite roles of T-cell helper responses in aneurysm as compared with atherosclerosis, casting doubt on the relevance and suita...

BACKGROUND Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors prevent the expansion and rupture of aortic aneurysms in animals. We investigated the association between ACE inhibitors and rupture in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms. METHODS We did a population-based case-control study of linked administrative databases in Ontario, Canada. The sample included consecutive patients older than...

Chronic-contained aortic aneurysm rupture with vertebral erosion is a rare entity with fatal complications. Multidetector computed tomography (CT) angiography is an important diagnostic method for the evaluation of the aortic aneurysms, their complications, and also the relationship between aneurysm and branching vessels and adjacent structures. We present the multidetector CT angiography findi...

Aorto-right atrial fistula: a rare complication of aortic dissection type A. A report of 2 cases. I read with great interest the paper by Pagni et al. concerning the management of a 69-year old female patient with acute type A aortic dissection complicated by a fistula to the right atrium [1]. This article has two interesting features that could be of use to all of us when faced with a similar ...

BACKGROUND Case series have described aortic dissection and rupture in pregnancy. Few population-based data exist to support an association. METHODS We performed a cohort-crossover study using data on all emergency department visits and acute care hospitalizations at nonfederal healthcare facilities in California, Florida, and New York. We included women ≥12 years of age with labor and delive...

BACKGROUND Optimal operative decision making in thoracic aortic aneurysms requires accurate information on the risk of complications during expectant management. Cumulative and yearly risks of rupture, dissection, and death before operative repair increase with increasing aortic size, but previous work has not addressed the impact of relative aortic size on complication rates. METHODS Our ins...

A thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) is a potentially life-threatening condition with structural weakness of the aortic wall, which can progress to arterial dilatation and rupture. Today, both an increasing awareness of vascular disease and the access to tomographic imaging facilitate the diagnosis of TAA even in an asymptomatic stage. The risk of rupture for untreated aneurysms beyond a diameter o...

Aortic rupture is a well recognized cause of sudden death in thoroughbred horses. Some microscopic lesions, such as those caused by cystic medial necrosis and medionecrosis, can lead to aortic rupture. However, these microscopic lesions are also observed in normal horses. On the other hand, a previous study of aortic rupture suggested that underlying elastin and collagen deposition disorders mi...

Rupture of the false sac in dissecting aortic aneurysm commonly occurs into the pericardial sac with an immediately fatal outcome (Hirst, Johns, and Kime, 1958). It is well known that should re-entry be established the immediate prognosis is not so grave as used to be thought, though death occurs later from heart failure due to aortic incompetence or hypertensive heart disease (Shennan, 1934). ...

1 of 2 DESCRIPTION Rupture of mitral-aortic intervalvular fi brosa aneurysm is a rare complication of aortic valve endocarditis. 1 A 43-yearold man presented with persistent fever and progressive dyspnoea of 3 months duration. On admission, he was in fl orid pulmonary oedema and clinical examination showed fi ndings of severe aortic regurgitation. His electrocardiogram revealed complete heart b...