‘Aortic aneurysm affects 7 lakh Indians, but few seek treatment’

Aorta is the largest blood vessel that carries pure blood to all parts of the body, while aneurysm is a huge bulge in the vessel. The bulge can occur very close to the aortic valve and coronary arteries and when it is almost 1.5 times the normal size, it is called aneurysm. It can also occur at the arch where blood vessels to the brain are situated. 

To throw more light on the condition, an event ‘7th International Aortic Summit - a comprehensive approach on state-of-the-art management of Advanced Aortic Disorders’ was held in the city on Friday. The event, organised by SIMS Hospital, had more than 14 experts from New Zealand, US, Italy, France and Germany. 

An estimated 6 to 7 lakh people suffer from the condition every year, according to Dr VV Bashi, director of Institute for Cardiac and Advanced Aortic Disorders (ICAAD), at SIMS Hospital. The symptoms are chest pain, back pain or stomach pain and the causes include birth disorder, smoking, high blood pressure, TB, accidents etc. 

“The condition needs some type of surgical treatment or Keyhole procedure with Endovascular graft.  But, today in India we are doing less than 1,000 cases. Rest of the patients don’t seek timely treatment or die suddenly due to various complications related to the condition,” he added. The diagnosis involves X Ray, CT Scan and Angiogram. The size of the bulge determines the surgery option. The event was inaugurated by Ravi Pachamoothoo, Chairman, SRM Group.