Enfermedades de la aorta: síndrome aórtico y aneurismas de aorta

Acute aortic syndrome (AAS) is defined as a sudden injury to the aorta that imminently threatens the patient's life. The three main clinical entities that give rise to this syndrome are aortic dissection, intramural hematoma, and penetrating aortic ulcer. It is important to differentiate between type A and type B AAS, since they have a different prognosis and treatment; the former is usually surgical and the latter is usually medical or conservative.

Aortic aneurysms, on the other hand, are focal, permanent dilatations of all artery layers. They are classified as fusiform if they affect the entire arterial circumference and saccular if they consist of an eccentric dilatation of the arterial circumference. Aneurysms can occur in any location of the arterial tree, but are more frequent in the infrarenal aorta. The diameter of abdominal aortic aneurysms is the main risk factor for rupture and surgery is indicated for those greater than 5.5 cm in men.