What causes AORTIC ANEURYSMS?
Aortic aneurysms may be caused by: • Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which weakens arterial walls • Hypertension (high blood pressure) • Local injury to the artery • Congenital abnormality. A number of conditions, such as Marfan syndrome are present at birth and can cause weakness of the artery walls. • Aging • Syphilis use to be a common cause of thoracic aneurysms, but that is no longer as common. Note: Instead of causing a bulge in a thinned artery wall, aortic aneurysms occasionally occur between layers of the artery itself. This is called a “dissecting aneurysm.” Blood starts to flow in the separated artery layers cutting off blood flow in the artery. This condition can rapidly lead to rupture of the artery.
