Aneurysm Disease Specialist
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Carolinas Vein & Vascular Solutions
Martin Carignan, MD
Vascular and Endovascular Surgery & General Surgery located in Huntersville, NC & Mooresville, NC
Chances are you won’t know you have aneurysm disease until the aneurysm is large enough to rupture, and then it’s a medical emergency. But you don’t have to wait for that to happen. At Carolinas Vein & Vascular Solutions, Martin Carignan, MD, can evaluate your risks for aneurysm disease, determine if you should have a screening, and provide preventive care. Dr. Carignan also has extensive experience performing procedures to repair an aneurysm. If you have questions or would like to schedule a risk evaluation, call the office in Huntersville, North Carolina, or use the online booking feature.
Aneurysm Disease Q & A
What is aneurysm disease?
Aneurysm disease broadly refers to having one of several types of aneurysms. Though aneurysm disease can affect any blood vessel, it most often occurs in arteries, causing the following types:
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm
- Thoracic aortic aneurysm
- Carotid aneurysm
- Visceral aneurysm
- Cerebral aneurysm
- Common iliac artery aneurysm
- Femoral and popliteal aneurysms
An aneurysm develops when a small area of the blood vessel wall weakens. The force of blood flowing through the vessel pushes into the area, creating a balloon-like bulge that fills up with blood.
Some aneurysms stay small; others get progressively larger. The rate at which an aneurysm enlarges differs in each person. Once an aneurysm gets too large, the weakened area can burst open.
What symptoms occur if I have aneurysm disease?
Aneurysms usually don’t cause symptoms until they get large enough to break open. However, a large aneurysm can cause pain.
After an aneurysm tears, the vessel bleeds out. That is a medical emergency that needs rapid emergency treatment.
The symptoms of a ruptured aneurysm include:
- Sudden, severe pain (wherever the aneurysm is located)
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Nausea
- Fainting
- Cold, clammy skin
- Sweating
- Fast heart rate
Many of these symptoms are caused by the fast drop in blood pressure as the vessel bleeds.
How is aneurysm disease treated?
If you have a small aneurysm, Carolinas Vein & Vascular Solutions takes a watchful waiting approach. Your provider regularly monitors the aneurysm, using diagnostic ultrasound or other imaging to verify its size and determine how fast it’s growing.
Your provider also treats the underlying conditions that cause aneurysms, such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and high cholesterol.
After the aneurysm reaches a certain size, or if it grows at a fast pace, your provider repairs it with endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) or open surgery.
Endovascular aneurysm repair
During EVAR, your provider guides a stent catheter through your blood vessels to the site of the aneurysm. At the aneurysm, they release the stent-graft (a tube made of leak-proof material), which expands and attaches to the vessel wall. The graft covers the aneurysm, and blood flows through the stent rather than into the weak bulging area.
Open surgery
If you get open surgery, your provider makes an incision near the aneurysm, removes the aneurysm, and sews a graft into the vessel.
To learn more about aneurysm disease or your risk factors, call Carolinas Vein & Vascular Solutions, or schedule an appointment online today.
