Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms

Thoracic aortic aneurysms may cause pain, coughing, and wheezing

If the aneurysm bursts, blood flows out and you have terrible pain and low blood pressure

If the aneurysm bursts, you'll die if you don't have surgery

Doctors often find an aneurysm by accident when they do an imaging test (such as an x-ray or CT scan) for another problem

Doctors try to fix aneurysms with surgery before the aneurysm bursts

Marfan syndrome Marfan Syndrome Marfan syndrome is a rare hereditary disorder of connective tissue, resulting in abnormalities of the eyes, bones, heart, blood vessels, lungs, and central nervous system. This syndrome is caused... read more , a disorder that runs in families and damages your body's tissues

High blood pressure High Blood Pressure Each heart beat pushes blood through your arteries. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to your body. Blood pressure is the pressure of blood in your arteries. Without... read more

Certain infections, such as syphilis Syphilis Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). An STI is an infection that is spread from person to person by sexual contact. Syphilis spreads easily through anal, oral, or vaginal sex... read more , pneumonia Pneumonia Pneumonia is an infection deep in your lungs. The infection involves the small air sacs in your lungs (alveoli). Pneumonia is different from infection of the air passages (bronchi) in your lungs... read more , or a urinary tract infection Urethritis Urethritis is an infection of your urethra, which is the tube attached to your bladder that lets urine flow out of your body. Urethritis is usually caused by bacteria that you get from sex ... read more (UTI)

Chest injuries, often from a car crash

Pain high in your back

Coughing

Coughing up blood

Problems swallowing

A hoarse voice

Unusual pulsing in your chest

Terrible pain high in your back

Pain in your belly area, chest, and arms

A sudden, dangerous drop in your blood pressure (shock Shock Shock is a medical emergency caused by your organs not getting enough blood and oxygen. It has nothing to do with the "shock" we feel when something scares or upsets us. When your body can't... read more )

Internal bleeding

A heart murmur (a whooshing sound your blood makes as it moves out of the heart into the aneurysm)

CT (computed tomography) scan Computed Tomography A CT scan uses a large machine shaped like a large donut to take x-rays from many angles. A computer then takes the x-rays and creates many detailed pictures of the inside of your body. Each... read more

Transesophageal ultrasound Ultrasonography Ultrasonography is a safe imaging test that uses sound waves to create a moving picture of the insides of your body. Ultrasonography doesn't use radiation (x-rays). Ultrasonography is also called... read more —done by passing an ultrasound probe down your throat into your esophagus (the tube that connects your throat to your stomach)

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) MRI is a test that uses a machine with a powerful magnet to make pictures of the inside of your body. A computer records changes in the magnetic field around your body. The computer then uses... read more

Avoid smoking

Take blood pressure medicine