The Natural History of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms: Etiology, Pathogenesis, and Evidence-Based Decision Making for Surgical Intervention

doi:10.3109/9781420019766-18

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The Natural History of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms: Etiology, Pathogenesis, and Evidence-Based Decision Making for Surgical Intervention

ABSTRACT

Many clinicians hold a utilitarian view of the aorta, considering it merely a large conduit through which blood travels to the vital organs of the body. For this reason, the thoracic aorta may not capture the full attention that more elaborate functional organs receive. Nevertheless, aneurysmal disease of the aorta is the thirteenth most common cause of death in the United States (1).