Aortic Aneurysm - Diagnosis - Diagnosis
To diagnose an aortic aneurysm, your doctor will do a physical exam and an imaging test to confirm a screening test. An abdominal aortic aneurysm is diagnosed when your abdominal aorta is three centimeters or greater in diameter. The normal diameter of the thoracic aorta depends on your age, your sex, and which part of the thoracic aorta is measured.
Physical exam
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Aortic Aneurysm - Diagnosis
During a physical exam, your doctor may do the following to look for an aortic aneurysm:
- Feel your abdomen to see whether an abdominal aortic aneurysm can be felt
- Listen to your heart for a heart murmur, softer heart sounds, or other changes in your blood flow that could be a sign of an aneurysm
- Check your pulse in your arms and legs to see whether it feels weaker than normal
- Look for signs and symptoms of medical conditions that are risk factors for an aortic aneurysm, such as Marfan or Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. This may include looking at your skin, muscles and bones, eyes, head and face, and heart.
Diagnostic tests and procedures
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Aortic Aneurysm - Diagnosis
Different types of imaging studies may be used to diagnose your aortic aneurysm. Consider discussing the options with your doctor. Your doctor may order some of the following imaging tests to confirm or diagnose an aortic aneurysm:
- Computed tomography (CT) to provide information about the location, size and shape of an aneurysm. This may be the first test you get if you have sudden back or abdominal pain, if you already know you have an aortic aneurysm, or if your doctor feels a pulsating bulge in your abdomen while examining you. CT can provide information about the entire aorta, but for routine screening other diagnostic tests like echocardiography or ultrasound may be done first.
- Echocardiography to provide information about the size of the aortic aneurysm and about the thoracic aorta, which is close to heart. Other parts of the thoracic aorta are better seen with other imaging studies such as CT or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- MRI to provide information about the size, shape, and location of the aneurysm
- Ultrasound to provide information about the size of the abdominal aortic aneurysm. If you have abdominal or back pain, an ultrasound can check for an abdominal aortic aneurysm or other possible causes of your pain. Once an aortic aneurysm is seen or suspected on ultrasound, you may have a CT scan or an MRI to provide more details about the shape or location of the aneurysm.
Tests for other medical conditions
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Aortic Aneurysm - Diagnosis
Some conditions may mimic the symptoms of abdominal aortic aneurysms. To help diagnose an aortic aneurysm, your doctor may need to perform CT or ultrasound tests to find out whether your symptoms may be caused by other medical conditions, including:
- Appendicitis, inflammation of the appendix
- Cholecystitis, inflammation of the gallbladder often caused by gallstones
- Hiatal hernia, in which a small part of your stomach comes through the opening in your diaphragm
- Pancreatitis, inflammation of the pancreas
- Pericardial disorders, conditions that affect the sac that surrounds your heart
- Pulmonary embolism, a type of venous thromboembolism
Reminders
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Aortic Aneurysm - Diagnosis
- Return to Risk Factors to review medical, genetic, or lifestyle factors that increase your risk of developing an aortic aneurysm.
- Return to Signs, Symptoms, and Complications to review common signs and symptoms of an aortic aneurysm.
- Return to Screening and Prevention to review how to screen for an aortic aneurysm.