What symptoms do aortic aneurysms cause?
Most aortic aneurysms cause no symptoms, so the only way that you may know you have one is by feeling pulsation in your abdomen (although that may be normal if you are slim). Some patients may say that they have felt a ‘heartbeat’ in the midpart of their abdomen. A few aneurysms cause discomfort, especially if they are large and place pressure on surrounding structures. This usually takes the form of constant, nagging pain, which may be felt in the back and/or abdomen. Aneurysms do not usually cause pain on movement, twinges of pain or colic: those kinds of pain are likely to result from other conditions, such as spinal problems or colonic spasm (irritable bowel). If an aortic aneurysm starts to leak then acute symptoms occur, which are described in the section ‘Ruptured leaking aortic aneurysms’.
