New Non Invasive Technique for Cardiac Treatment at RAK Hospital

- Life threatening Thoracic Aneurysms require timely diagnosis. Sudden death without symptoms, the disease is termed as a ‘Silent Killer’
- A powerful message: Early diagnosis and treatment can save lives
- Rupture leads to severe internal bleeding, shock and death with only 30% survival chance

Feb 25, 2014, UAE…………Cardiac surgeons at RAK Hospital are now able to treat the life threatening condition of Thoracic Aneurysms through non invasive endovascular stent graft technique over the standard surgical open chest repair.  This new way of treatment is less painful and has lower risk of complications than traditional surgery plus the hospital stay is minimal with quicker recovery.
 
“An aneurysm is an abnormal widening or ballooning of a portion of an artery due to weakness in the wall of the blood vessel. A thoracic Aortic Aneurysm (TAA) occurs in the part of the body's largest artery (the aorta) that passes through the chest. Only 20 to 30 % of patients who get to the hospital with a ruptured TAA survive. For this reason, it is crucial to treat large aneurysm early, in order to prevent their rupture.
Approximately 25% of aortic aneurysm occurs in the chest & the rest involve the abdominal aorta. The Thoracic aortic aneurysm can cause a variety of symptoms and often life-threatening complications. Due to the serious risks it presents, timely diagnosis and treatment of a thoracic aneurysm are critical”, said Dr. Arun Goyal, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, RAK Hospital.

Most thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs) are asymptomatic (about 95%). They may only be diagnosed incidentally. Possible symptoms include

• Pain in the jaw, neck, and upper back.
• Chest or back pain
• Coughing, Hoarseness of voice or Difficult Breathing

It is critical to notify your physician immediately if you experience any symptom of TAA. TAA are
serious health risk because its rupture leads to severe internal bleeding, shock & death.

What causes a Thoracic aortic aneurysm?
It is not known why aortic aneurysms occur, but there is certainly a Genetic component to many aneurysms. We do not know what triggers aneurysm development in most cases, ultimate outcome is destruction of the aortic wall, weakened aortic wall leads to ballooning out of the weak aortic wall & formation of aneurysm. Factors that may increase your risk for aneurysm formation are:

• Smoking
• Diabetes Mellitus
• High Cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Family history of Aneurysm
• Certain other diseases can weaken the layers of aortic wall.
• Marfan syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos & Loyes-Dietz Syndrome ( All connective tissue Disorders)
• Giant cell arteritis & Takayasu arteritis
• Bicuspid Aortic valves
• Untreated infections Such as Syphilis, Salmonella & Tuberculosis.
• Traumatic Injury.

Your risk of developing TAA increases as you become old & more common in men than in
women. Larger your TAA or the faster it grows more chances to rupture.

What Tests Do you need?: Your Physician will advice one or more of the following tests to diagnose TAA.

• Chest X-ray
• Trans esophageal Echocardiography
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• High resolution Computed tomography (CT scan)
• Angiography