Life-long Care
The Thoracic Aortic Surgery Program provides comprehensive,
individualized care on a long-term basis. Thoracic aortic disease is complex and may progress with time. Periodic monitoring and surgical intervention when needed are aimed at avoiding aortic emergencies and enabling individuals to live relatively normal lives.
The same underlying condition, such as bicuspid aortic valve and other forms of familial TAD, may vary in its degree of severity. Some individuals with good blood pressure control and healthy lifestyles may be followed for several years without need for surgery. Others may require surgery soon after diagnosis. Regardless of when it is first diagnosed, the initial evaluation provides a baseline for future comparison in following the course of TAD in that person.
Medical History
Personal medical history as well as family history is carefully reviewed during the aortic consultation. Some genetic conditions, such as bicuspid aortic valves and other forms of familial thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection, are associated with TAD in multiple family members.
Imaging Studies
In order to find an enlarged or bulging aorta in the chest, it is necessary to clearly see it. Finding TAD is easier today due to advances in imaging technology. Using state-of-the-art imaging, aortic disease can be detected and successfully treated.
MRI, CT, and echocardiography are the tests that may be used. The aorta is checked for abnormal enlargement or coarctation, along with the heart, including its valves and chambers. The blood vessels of the head and neck may also be examined.
Thoracic aortic disease requires periodic monitoring, choosing the appropriate test at the appropriate time. Testing options are carefully evaluated for each patient, considering factors such as radiation exposure. Gated studies, where the images are synchronized with the heart beat, allow the aorta to be viewed during both systole and diastole. This captures the greatest aortic diameter as well as the difference in diameter between these two states, providing important information about the diseased aorta.