Utilidad del eco-Doppler en el screening de la aorta abdominal / Usefulness of Doppler ultrasound for the screeining of the abdominal aorta

ABSTRACT

An aneurysm is a permanent dilatation of an artery due to a weakness in the arterial wall. The aortic aneurysm is defined as the enlargement of the diameter greater than 50% in his original size compared with a previous segment, or greater than 3 cm. If an abdominal aortic aneurysm is suspected on the basis of either the patient history or a prominent aortic pulse, an abdominal ultrasound examination should be done. The presence of an aneurysm is an indication for complete evaluation for strong consideration of surgical treatment. Rupture of an abdominal aneurysm is associated with sudden, massive blood loss. Many of these patients die before reaching a hospital. The striking difference in mortality rates between patients with ruptured aneurysms and those undergoing elective treatment makes a strong case for advising surgery to prevent deaths due to rupture. For these motives it is imperious to indicate ultrasound studies to provide concrete images of this disease. These considerations are expressed in this paper