The Cooper Vascular Center

Abdominal Vascular Imaging

Aneurysms are most often in the aorta, the main artery which goes from your heart down through your chest and abdomen. The aorta carries blood flow from the heart to all the vital organs and eventually to the legs and feet. An abdominal aortic aneurysm or a triple AAA is caused by a progressive weakening of the aortic wall that causes a  “ballooning” of the vessel. The aneurysm will grow larger and eventually rupture if it is not diagnosed and treated. An AAA rupture is life-threatening situation with massive internal bleeding.

Most abdominal aortic aneurysms cause no problems or symptoms for you. Aneurysms, however, may have symptoms such as intense back or abdominal pain. The major risk of an abdominal aortic aneurysm is rupture. Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms is the 13th leading cause of death in the United States, with over 15,000 Americans dying each year.

Aneurysms come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are sausage shaped and sometimes they are balloon shaped. AAA occurs typically in the middle aged or older person and is two or three times more common in men than in women.  They also occur in some families so there is a hereditary factor.

Some AAA can be felt easily through the abdominal wall but many of them cannot. While some are found by specifically looking, a large number are only found by chance. For example, when a person has an ultrasound examination for some other problem, AAA are found. Ultrasound testing is the first choice for detecting an AAA.

How a Abdominal Vascular Diagnostic Test Works

Abdominal ultrasound examination is an easy and accurate way to diagnosis and measure the size of the aneurysm. The abdominal ultrasound is a noninvasive (the skin is not pierced) procedure. An ultrasound is something like the sonar used in ships at sea or airplanes and dolphins. As sound waves bounce off objects or organs, they can show location, size, and shape of the organ. The equipment consists of:

• a transducer, which is a small hand-held device that looks like a microphone
• a screen to view the images that is like a television or computer monitor

Liquid jelly is used on the transducer and your skin to help transmit the sound waves. The transducer both sends the sound waves and records the echoes. A computer helps translate the echoes into images. These pictures can be recorded both as video and as still pictures (images). When the transducer (like a microphone) is placed on the abdomen at certain locations and angles, the ultrasonic sound waves move through the skin and other body tissues to the blood vessels.