NURS 471 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal Aorta, Aortic Valve
Document Summary
Abnormal localized dilation of a blood vessel or wall of the heart. 50% increase in diameter of blood vessel compared to normal. Bound by arterial wall or wall of heart. Fusiform more uniform in shape, involves the entire circumference of the artery. Bulges out to one side of the artery: false aneurysms. Breach in wall of vessel, extravascular hematoma, pulsating hematoma. Occur with trauma, infection, after bypass surgery, Blood separates the layers of the arterial wall, forming a cavity between the two layers. Risk of this increases as size of the aneurysm increases. Patho: 80% of aneurysms are aaa (abdominal aortic aneurism). Abdominal aorta > 3cm is considered an aneurism, and growth is unpredictable. Rupture of aaa has 90% mortality rate, so must be caught quickly: more common with: Atherosclerosis- weakens the walls of the vessels. Htn- need to control bp, regular exercise, good diet: genetic conditions- connective tissue disorders (marfan"s syndrome), dm, statins & antibiotic preventative use.
