Wockhardt Hospitals Blog

An aneurysm is a bulge or "ballooning" in the wall of an artery. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to other parts of the body. If an aneurysm grows large, it can burst and cause dangerous bleeding or even death.

Most aneurysms occur in the aorta, the main artery traveling from the heart through the chest and abdomen. Aneurysms also can happen in arteries in the brain, heart and other parts of the body. If an aneurysm in the brain bursts, it causes a stroke.

Aneurysms can develop and become large before causing any symptoms. Often doctors can stop aneurysms from bursting if they find and treat them early. Medicines and surgery are the two main treatments for aneurysms.

Aortic dissection occurs when the layers of the wall of the aorta separate or are torn, allowing blood to flow between those layers and causing them to separate further. When the aortic wall separates, blood cannot flow freely, and the aortic wall may burst.

Any condition that causes the walls of the arteries to weaken can lead to an aneurysm. The following increase the risk of an aneurysm or an aortic dissection:

Aneurysms can be detected by physical exam, on a basic chest or stomach x-ray, or by using ultrasound. The size and location can be found through echocardiography or radiological imaging, such as arteriography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT) scanning.

• Aortic dissection may cause sudden and severe pain, and patients often feel like something is ripping or tearing inside of them. The pain is mainly felt in the chest, but it can spread to the back or between the shoulder blades. Aortic dissection may also cause sudden stomach pain, lower back pain, or flu-like symptoms. If blood leaks from the dissection and builds up in the chest, the blood may enter the pericardial space (the sac that surrounds the heart) and prevent the heart from filling properly. This can lead to a life-threatening condition called cardiac tamponade.

Treatment depends on the size and location of the aneurysm and your overall health.

Aneurysms in the upper chest (the ascending aorta) are usually operated on right away.

Aneurysms in the lower chest and the area below your stomach (the descending thoracic and abdominal parts of the aorta) may not be as life-threatening. Aneurysms in these locations are watched regularly. If they become about 5 centimeters (almost 2 inches) in diameter, continue to grow, or begin to cause symptoms, your doctor may want you to have surgery to stop the aneurysm from bursting.

For aortic aneurysms or aneurysms that happen in the vessels that supply blood to your arms, legs, and head (the peripheral vessels), surgery involves replacing the weakened section of the vessel with an artificial tube, called a graft.

For patients with smaller or stable aneurysms in the descending aorta or abdominal parts of the aorta—those farthest from the heart, doctors usually ask patients to come in for regular check-ups so they can follow the growth of the aneurysm. If the aneurysm does not grow much, patients may live with the aneurysm for years. Doctors may also prescribe medicine, especially medicine like a beta blocker that lowers blood pressure, to relieve the stress on the aortic walls. Medicine to lower blood pressure is especially useful for patients where the risk of surgery may be greater than the risk of the aneurysm itself.

For patients with aortic dissection, surgery is usually recommended right away, especially if the dissection is in the part of the aorta closest to the heart. For dissections farther from the heart, patients will be given medicines (such as beta-blockers to lower blood pressure), and the dissection will be watched closely. But, if the dissection begins to leak blood, cause a blockage, or get bigger, surgery is needed.

They New York Times yesterday published an article on Medical Tourism outlining the benefits of medical tourism specially in times of increasing depressing economic conditions.

The article talks about an American executive working for Bank of America chose to go to Costa Rica for his double hernia operation rather than going to a local hospital in Columbia
Going Abroad to Find Affordable Health Care - NYTimes.com

With over 85,000 Americans choose to travel abroad for medical procedures each year, according to a recent report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Most American patients or medical travelers which they are mostly known as , Treatment includes dental implants, hip and knee replacements, heart valve replacements and bypass surgery. The cost of surgery performed overseas can be as little as 20 percent of the price of the same procedure in the United States, according to a recent report by the American Medical Association.

While the Nytimes reports accepts that the bulk of medical tourism candidates are uninsured and underinsured people paying their own bills and looking for low-cost alternatives to American care. Most Medical tourism advocates and Americans who have actually been to countries like India argue that the quality of care overseas is often equal to or better than that in the United States. Many countries have high success rates, American-trained English-speaking doctors and the newest facilities, often built specifically to attract foreign patients.

While this is not the first time that the mainstream US media has started to cover medical tourism in a big way,what would be interesting if this Medical Tourism Growth has any affect on the Obama's proposed rehauling of the American Health care system While it is clear that outsourcing has been one of the issues that the Democrats has taken on a very tough stand on, Medical Outsourcing of Health is something that is independent of Government Regulation or Idealogy. As long as Hospitals in the Developing countries provides quality at competitive costs medical Tourism will continue to grow..

The American Medical Association, has issued guidelines on medical travel, which ymou can check here issued guidelines on medical tourism . (They’re available on the Web at tinyurl.com/cpklcw.)