December 4, 2015

Did you know that an aortic aneurysm is not the same as an aortic dissection? An aneurysm is the bulging of a blood vessel. You can think of it as weakened portion of a garden hose. The weaker the walls of the hose, the bigger the bulge, and the more likely it will burst. A dissection is when layers of the blood vessel tear. The blood then begins to separate the layers from one another. Although an aneurysm and a dissection are two separate conditions, they can be related. One condition can lead to the other.