Can you feel aneurysm

Facts about aneurysms Aneurysms vary in size. What symptoms should you look out for? Source: bafound. Search for:. Now What? The more you smoke, the greater your risk. If you want to stop smoking, your GP will be able to refer you to an NHS Stop Smoking Service, which will give you dedicated help and advice about the best ways to quit. You can also call or chat online with Quit Your Way Scotland. The specially trained helpline staff can offer you free expert advice and encouragement.

Read more about stopping smoking and nicotine replacement therapies NRTs , which can make it easier to quit. This is because eating too much saturated fat can lead to high cholesterol, which can build up in the artery walls.

Read more about high cholesterol. Find out more about healthy eating and how to reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat. Being active and doing regular exercise lowers blood pressure by keeping your heart and blood vessels in good condition.

Adults should do at least minutes two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week. For it to count, the activity should make you feel warm and slightly out of breath. Someone who is overweight may only have to walk up a slope to get this feeling. Get more ideas on being active. Being overweight forces your heart to work harder to pump blood around your body. This can raise your blood pressure, which in turn puts pressure on your arteries.

Use a BMI healthy weight calculator to find out if you need to lose weight. If you need to shed some weight, it's worth remembering that losing just a few pounds will make a big difference to your blood pressure and overall health.

Get tips on losing weight safely and read more about preventing high blood pressure. Home Illnesses and conditions Heart and blood vessels Conditions Abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm See all parts of this guide Hide guide parts 1. About abdominal aortic aneurysms 2. Symptoms of an abdominal aortic aneurysm 3. Causes of an abdominal aortic aneurysm 4. Diagnosing an abdominal aortic aneurysm 5.

Treating an abdominal aortic aneurysm 6. Preventing an abdominal aortic aneurysm. About abdominal aortic aneurysms An abdominal aortic aneurysm AAA is a swelling aneurysm of the aorta — the main blood vessel that leads away from the heart, down through the abdomen to the rest of the body. The most common symptom of a ruptured aortic aneurysm is sudden and severe pain in the abdomen. Causes of an AAA It's not known exactly what causes the aortic wall to weaken, although increasing age and being male are known to be the biggest risk factors.

Diagnosing an AAA Because AAAs usually cause no symptoms, they tend to be diagnosed either as a result of screening or during a routine examination — for example, if a GP notices a pulsating sensation in your abdomen. You will also have the size of your aneurysm checked regularly with ultrasound scanning. Prevention The best way to prevent getting an aneurysm — or reduce the risk of an aneurysm growing bigger and possibly rupturing — is to avoid anything that could damage your blood vessels, such as: smoking eating a high-fat diet not exercising regularly being overweight or obese Read more about preventing aneurysms.

Screening Read more about screening for an AAA. Symptoms of an abdominal aortic aneurysm In most cases, an unruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm AAA will cause no symptoms, unless it becomes particularly large.

Symptoms of an unruptured AAA may include: a pulsating feeling in your stomach abdomen , usually near your belly button, that's usually only noticeable when you touch it persistent back pain persistent abdominal pain If you have any of the symptoms above, you should see your GP as soon as possible.

Ruptured AAA If your aortic aneurysm ruptures, you will feel a sudden and severe pain in the middle or side of your abdomen. Causes of an abdominal aortic aneurysm The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. Risk factors for an AAA It's not known exactly what causes the aortic wall to weaken, although increasing age and being male are known to be the biggest risk factors.

Men are around six times more likely to be diagnosed with an AAA than women. Smoking Research has found that smokers are seven times more likely to develop an AAA than people who have never smoked.

Atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a potentially serious condition where arteries become clogged up by fatty deposits, such as cholesterol. High blood pressure As well as contributing to atherosclerosis, high blood pressure hypertension can place increased pressure on the aorta's wall. Family history Having a family history of AAAs means that you have an increased risk of developing one.

However, no specific genes have yet been identified. Diagnosing an abdominal aortic aneurysm An abdominal aortic aneurysm AAA usually causes no symptoms. Treating an abdominal aortic aneurysm Treatment for an abdominal aortic aneurysm AAA depends on several factors, including the aneurysm's size, your age and general health. See below for more information on treating small and medium aneurysms. There are two surgical techniques used to treat a large aneurysm: endovascular surgery open surgery Although both techniques are equally effective at reducing the risk of the aneurysm bursting, each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The surgeon will discuss with you which is most suitable. Endovascular surgery Endovascular surgery is a type of "keyhole" surgery where the surgeon makes small cuts in your groin. This reinforces the aorta, reducing the risk of it bursting.

There are also fewer major complications, such as wound infection or deep vein thrombosis DVT. Open surgery In open surgery, the surgeon cuts into your stomach abdomen to reach the abdominal aorta and replaces the enlarged section with a graft. This type of graft is a tube made of a synthetic material. There is also a greater risk of complications, such as wound infection, chest infection and DVT. If you have a small or medium AAA If you are diagnosed with a small 3.

Rarely, unruptured aneurysms may become large and press on nerves in the brain, causing symptoms. If you experience these symptoms, seek prompt medical attention. Our site uses cookies to personalize features and, via third-parties, to collect metrics on usage so that we can better tailor our site to the needs of our users. You can view our full cookie and privacy policies via the links below. To fully experience our site, please click Accept. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscit.

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