At the wrong time, the disease kills around 4,500 lives in Lithuania every year – lists people at risk

“To successfully treat an aortic aneurysm, it must first be diagnosed; it cannot be done without an ultrasound examination of the aorta. This insidious disease is called a ‘silent killer’ for no reason: some patients do not feel any symptoms and therefore therefore, they do not feel the need to see a doctor, although a sudden rupture of the aorta can kill them. The best way to prevent such a disease and often the only way to save lives is through preventive tests ”, says A. Mackevičius.

The doctor explains that the aorta is the largest blood vessel in the human body, it carries blood from the heart to the whole body, and the aneurysm is a dilation of the blood vessel when the diameter of the aorta exceeds one and a half times its normal diameter. . When aortic aneurysms are ruptured, operated on, or treated, mortality can reach 80 percent, but treatment for a ruptured aortic aneurysm can reach 95 percent. the cases are successful.

Sometimes a rupture of the aorta is not only a consequence of the disease, but also the only symptom, so until now a person can live in peace and not even imagine that his life is in danger of death. A ruptured aneurysm causes sudden, sharp pain, a person may lose consciousness. In some cases, symptoms may appear earlier, such as back or leg pain. In this case, you should seek help immediately, “warns A. Mackevičius.

You are at risk of getting sick, but you don’t know it.

A Vilnius doctor says that an increased risk of developing an aortic aneurysm can be due to several factors: improper lifestyle and harmful habits, such as smoking. The development of this disease can also be caused by high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other large arterial aneurysms.

“There are not only acquired but also congenital cases of aortic aneurysm: it can be inherited from family members and is most often found in men over 65 and women over 75. We also do not rule out that in the future the age of patients with this disease may become younger ”, says vascular surgeon A. Mackevičius.

Today in Lithuania there could be more than 5 thousand. Men and women who have an abdominal aortic aneurysm, but most of them, about 70 percent, do not receive treatment because they have not yet been diagnosed with the disease.

Invite to check for free

Registered patients will often have to wait for a routine ultrasound examination of the aorta, but during the World Aorta Day campaign, clinics will make it possible to do so much faster.

On Saturday September 25, an ultrasound examination of the aorta will be performed free of charge for everyone in a special tent near the MO Museum (Pylimo St. 17, Vilnius) from 10 am to 6 pm The selection of visitors will be will be done without pre-registration and the results of the study will be provided immediately after the procedure. The vascular surgeon Artūras Mackevičius, who performed the examination, will assess the condition of each patient, consult and provide all the necessary information. If the patient is diagnosed with aortic pathology or the physician suspects the subject’s condition, they will be informed of the next steps that should be taken immediately.

“An ultrasound examination of the aorta is quick, painless and non-invasive, it takes only a few minutes, but it can save your life. Take this time for yourself or your loved ones and be careful of the threatening disease,” advises Dr. A. Mackevičius.

Importance of the study

The doctor remembers 2019, when World Aorta Day was marked with a free examination of an aortic aneurysm.

“Throughout the 6-hour campaign, we examined more than 400 people and it is likely that 4 of them saved lives by identifying cases of aortic aneurysms. Before the examination, the patients did not even know that they might have such a problem and felt nothing, although their lives were in danger of death, ”says Artūras Mackevičius, a doctor and vascular surgeon from Vilnius.

An insidious aortic aneurysm that is detrimental to health can be controlled and cured, but the lesions must be diagnosed and detected in a timely manner. The campaign at the MO Museum in Vilnius on September 25 will help you to do this quickly and easily.