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| Aneurysm Treating and Preventing Aneurysm If the aneurysm is discovered while it is still small and there are no symptoms, your doctor will generally recommend a watch and wait approach. This includes repeat exams and scans every 6 to 12 months. The treatment for a ruptured aneurysm is emergency surgery. The aneurysm is usually replaced with a synthetic graft or closed off with a clip. Treatment of a mycotic aneurysm involves taking antibiotics for a certain period of time, followed by removal of the aneurysm. Surgery is a lot safer if the aneurysm hasn't ruptured yet. If you're a man over 65 years of age and your family has a history of aneurysms or hemorrhagic stroke, you should ask for a screening scan. Aneurysms under a certain size (their size depends on their location) rarely rupture. Abdominal aneurysms over 5.5 cm and thoracic aneurysms over 6 cm in diameter pose a real risk of rupture and are best treated surgically. Surgery to repair an aneurysm is major surgery and involves an incision. In some cases, surgeons have developed new techniques to close off the aneurysm without a large incision, by approaching them from the inside the artery ("endovascular" approach). Whatever your genetic profile, you can reduce your risk of aneurysm and rupture by:
The blood-pressure-lowering medication propranolol* and other types of beta blockers may reduce the risk of enlargement and rupture of detected aneurysms. |