Inflamed Aorta, (Aortitis) A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

by Kenneth Kee

Overview

This book describes Aortitis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases
Aortitis is the all-encompassing term given to inflammation of the wall of the aorta.
The most frequent causes of aortitis are:
1.The large vessel vasculitides,
2.Giant cell arteritis (GCA)
3.Takayasu arteritis
Infectious aortitis is a rare but possibly life-threatening disorder.
It is also linked with several other rheumatologic diseases.
In some cases, aortitis is an incidental finding at the time of histopathology examination after the surgery for aortic aneurysm.
Causes
This inflammation has a number of possible causes, such as trauma, viral or bacterial infections (notably, syphilis), and certain immune disorders and connective tissue diseases.
Aortitis is most often seen in patients with autoimmune vasculitis (giant cell arteritis, Takayasu's arteritis), polymyalgia rheumatica, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Symptoms
The medical manifestation of aortitis ranges across a spectrum of symptoms and medical signs, ranging from back or abdominal pain with fever to acute severe aortic insufficiency to an incidentally-identified large thoracic aortic aneurysm.
Acute aortic syndromes (aortic dissection and rupture) can occur in persons with aortitis.
Inflammation-linked thrombus formation in the aortic lumen with peripheral embolization has also been documented.
The underlying cause of the aortitis and its concomitant presentations determine the presenting symptoms.
The site of aortic inflammation (e.g., ascending thoracic versus abdominal aorta) and the occurrence of coexisting arteritis in other blood vessels also determine medical manifestation.
Because of the varied manifestation of aortitis, and the often non-specific nature of its symptoms and signs, the index of suspicion of the examining doctor must be high to form an accurate diagnosis in a timely manner
1.Back or abdominal pain with fever
2.Systemic inflammatory syndrome due to vasculitis
3.Aneurysmal disease
a.Thoracic aortic aneurysm
b.Abdominal aortic aneurysm
4.Cardiac abnormalities
a.Aortic insufficiency (acute or chronic)
b.Stable angina pectoris or acute coronary syndrome due to coronary involvement
5.Aortic thrombosis with distal embolization
6.Aortic dissection or rupture (rare)
7.Upper and lower extremity claudication with pulse deficits
8.Hypertension in a young patient (Takayasu arteritis)
Diagnosis
While the diagnosis of aortitis is suspected on the basis of medical manifestation, expedient imaging of the entire aorta with a proper method is important to establish the diagnosis.
Modern imaging tools for the aorta are:
1.Computed tomography angiography (CT),
2.Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), and
3.Ultrasonography.
4.Positron emission tomography (PET) scanning has emerged for targeted imaging of vascular inflammation
Treatment
The treatment of aortitis is dependent on the underlying disorder.
Treatment involves:
1.Stop the inflammation,
2.Treat complications,
3.Prevent and monitor for re-occurrence.
Once the diagnosis of aortitis is done, the treatment is dependent upon the underlying cause.
The purposes of treatment are both:
1.The immediate treatment of aortic inflammation, or infection in rare cases, and
2.Monitoring and treatment of aortic and arterial complications.
Infectious causes often need urgent antibiotic treatment, while those linked with autoimmune vasculitides are normally treated with steroids.
Methotrexate, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, and infliximab have shown promise for use in steroid-refractory patients
Open aortic reconstructive surgery is generally the standard of treatment for aortic aneurysms associated with aortitis

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Aortitis
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Aortic Aneurysm
Chapter 8 Dissecting Aorta
Epilogue

Product Details

BN ID:	2940155217916
Publisher:	Kenneth Kee
Publication date:	04/16/2018
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	155 KB

About the Author

Medical doctor since 1972. Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009. Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993. Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 65. However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. He first started writing free blogs on medical conditions seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com. His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com. This autobiolographical account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com. From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 550 amazon kindle books and some into Smashwords.com eBooks. He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books. He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures. Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple. For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients. The later books go into more details of medical conditions. The first chapter of all my ebooks is always taken from my blog A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions which was started in 2007 as a simple educational help to my patients on my first blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com. The medical condition was described simply and direct to the point. Because the simple guide as taken from the blog was described as too simple, I have increased the other chapters to include more detailed description of the illness, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. As a result there are the complaints by some readers of constant repetitions of the same contents but in detail and fairly up to date. He has published 550 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter. The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health conditions and not meant as textbooks. He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke. His clinic is now relocated to the Bouna Vista Community Centre. The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall. He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) starting with the Apple computer and going to PC. All the PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core. The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive. He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance. His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner. The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned. This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale. Dr Kee is the author of: "A Family Doctor's Tale" "Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine" "Case Notes From A Family Doctor"