About aortic disease
Mass General Brigham offers the most advanced care for patients with disease of the aorta, the main artery of the heart, including acute and chronic aortic dissections, thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, Marfan syndrome, and coarctation of the aorta. Each patient’s care team combines the expertise of a team of clinicians from multiple disciplines and many perspectives, including specialists in cardiac, vascular and endovascular surgery, cardiology, vascular medicine, cardiac and vascular intervention, imaging, and anesthesia. Our treatments are driven by sophisticated technology and implemented by the entire team of specialists.
By carefully studying the results of imaging studies and considering the patient’s past medical history, the team weighs the risks and benefits of various treatments and recommends a course of optimal management to the patient, family, and the referring physician. Depending on the patient’s needs, the team can add a whole host of support services, including interpreters, social workers and other medical specialists. All of this happens quickly, with the patient typically having a treatment plan established at the end of the first visit.
Conditions we treat
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Aortic aneurysm
- Aortic atherosclerosis
- Aortic coarctation
- Aortic dissection
- Aortic genetic disorders
- Aortic transection
- Aortitis
- Coarctation of the aorta
- Intramural hematoma of the aorta
- Marfan syndrome
- Penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers of the aorta
- Thoracic aortic aneurysms
- Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms
Aortic disease symptoms
Depending on the type of aortic disease a patient has, symptoms may include:
- Back pain
- Chest pain
Signs of an aortic emergency include:
- Difficulty breathing
- Pain in the chest, jaw, neck, and arms
- Sharp, sudden pain in the upper back, spreading downward
Diagnosis of aortic disease
Our cardiac imaging specialists may recommend one or more advanced diagnostic tests to make a diagnosis, including:
- CT scan
- Echocardiography
- MRI
Approach to treatment for aortic disease
Depending on the diagnosis, medical intervention or surgical treatments may be recommended.
- Medications used to manage aortic disease include drugs to control cholesterol and blood pressure
- Multi-modality imaging is conducted to monitor ongoing and chronic conditions
Mass General Brigham heart specialists develop and utilize the latest cardiac surgical devices and technology, even those that are still in clinical trials and not yet widely available. In some complex cases, we may recommend a hybrid approach to treatment (combining surgery and non-surgical treatments). Our team specializes in a number of innovative procedures for managing aortic disease, including:
- Aortic arch surgery
- Aortic dissection for Marfan's syndrome
- Ascending aneurysm repair with an interposition tube graft
- Composite aortic root replacement
- Hybrid approaches to treat complex aortic disease
- Minimally invasive stent-grafts for selected thoracic aortic aneurysms
- Repair of extensive thoracoabdominal aneurysms
- Stent graft/minimally invasive endovascular surgery
- Valve-preserving operations for aortic root aneurysms
Lifelong care for aortic disease
Patients with aortic disease who are diagnosed and receive the appropriate treatment can expect to lead relatively normal lives, but lifelong management of the disease may be required. After their initial diagnosis, patients are followed carefully by their providers to ensure their condition is being managed. Patients especially need to control their blood pressure in order to limit the stress on the aorta, and often need lifelong surveillance of their aorta to monitor for need of additional treatment.
