Aneurysm Causes

The first breath is the most difficult, causing a small bulge to appear in the balloon wall. Each successive breath comes easier; the balloon expands, filling bystanders with wonder. Unbeknownst to those observing, each breath moves the balloon closer to the point of rupture. A small tear occurs. Boom! The balloon disintegrates. An aneurysm goes through a similar series of events, but with a more tramatic effect. Unfortunately, the cause of an aneurysm is not as simple as a single breath, but so complex that the root cause is to this point still hidden. Most of the information relating to aneurysms and their causes is focused on how pre-existing medical conditions and lifestyle choices exacerbate an aneurysm. In my eyes, aneurysms are an ever
growing problem with no apparent solution. The only way to prevent this problem from continuing is to discover the root cause of the arterial weakening.
Even though there have been tremendous medical advances, aneurysms are only treated once they reach a point where qualified medical professionals deem them a strong possibility to burst and cause massive internal damage.
Unfortunately, even the most qualified and aware members of the medical field can miss an aneurysm if they are not looking for it. Often, aneurysms are asymptomatic, until they pose a very real threat to the patient's well being. What if the root cause of aneurysms is found? Is there a certain genetic sequence that predisposes a human to developing aneurysms or are they solely caused by overuse and mistreatment? Such a discovery could allow medical professionals to prevent the formation of harmful aneurysms and make preventative treatment a possibility, instead of waiting until an aneurysm has
formed.
Aneurysms piqued my interests sometime during my sophomore and junior years of high school, when I learned that my family’s medical history involves various vascular diseases including aneurysms. Then, this past summer I had the opportunity to intern at Sanford Health, one of our local hospitals, with members of the vascular department. While most of my days were spent hunched over a computer in an office, researching the treatments of vascular diseases or the patent process behind novel treatment procedures, there were a few exceptions. On occasion, I observed state-of-the-art endovascular treatments of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, developed by the surgeon with whom I interned. Although the treatment is a vast improvement over previous methods, it doesn’t eliminate the problem of aneurysm formation but only minimizes the chance of rupture. Aneurysms still require medical professionals to diagnose them and then determine the threshold at which intervention is necessary. To make diagnosis even more difficult, the threshold is ever changing and depends on each individual patient.
Through information I gathered as an intern, I realized that although many factors contribute to the growth of an aneurysm, little is known about the initial cause.
It is known, however, that men are much more susceptible to the development of many types of aneurysms, while women rarely develop any type of aneurysm. Within the genetic makeup of men and women lies a dissimilarity that is the cornerstone to understanding aneurysms. Finding the genetic predisposition could also be expedited by comparing the ethnic backgrounds of patients and finding the common link. Certain ethnic groups, such as Caucasian, experience aneurysms more frequently. By discovering this root cause, treatments will no longer be confined to the time after the initial discovery; instead, treatment could begin early in a patient’s
life.
All problems were at one point shrouded, but there is a path to find the solution to aneurysms. Exploring genetics could allow us to determine if an individual is predisposed to aneurysm development and possibly provide a key to unravel the mysteries behind them. Making the mysteries behind aneurysms as well known as the reasons behind a balloon bursting. No longer would we be limited to picking up the balloon pieces, but instead we could prevent the disintegration.