Page 13 - Hobe Sound Reflections - February '24

Hobe Sound, Page 13

Cleveland CliniC marTin healTh news

Surviving Thoracic Aortic says Cleveland Clinic Martin Health cardiothoracic surgeon Smaller aneurysms and tears may be monitored for years

Disease: Don’t Leave It To Edward Savage, M.D., site director, Heart Vascular Thoracic before requiring surgery. This watchful waiting approach will
Center.
include periodic imaging tests, usually every six to 12 months,
Chance Weakened And Torn and strict blood pressure management.

If surgery is deemed necessary, there are two options
The elasticity of the aortic wall, which is made up of

The candy cane-shaped aorta is the largest artery in three layers, allows it to stretch as it fills with blood from depending on the location of the aneurysm. The diseased portion
the body. It has a very important job as the main conduit the heart. Aneurysms are formed when the wall weakens of the aorta can be replaced with a fabric tube called a graft
for oxygen-rich blood traveling from the heart to the rest and balloons out. If an aneurysm becomes too large, it can during open surgery. Alternatively, a stent graft, which is a fabric
of the body. rupture and cause life-threatening bleeding. tube supported by a metal wire scaffold, can be placed inside
About the width of a “The problem with an aortic aneurysm is that your first the aorta using a minimally invasive, catheter-based approach.
large garden hose, the aorta symptom is often your last,” says Dr. Savage, who notes Staying Healthy
starts at the heart, ascends they are typically discovered by chance in the course of About 20 percent of patients with a thoracic aortic aneurysm
up to form an arch and imaging tests for other conditions. or dissection have a family history of aortic disease. Other risk
then descends through the An aortic dissection occurs when a partial thickness tear factors include age, a history of smoking, high blood pressure
chest into the abdomen. in the inner wall allows the layers to separate and blood and atherosclerosis, as well as certain genetic conditions like
The section above the to pool between them. This can decrease blood flow to Marfan syndrome.
diaphragm, called the organs, cause an aneurysm to form, or lead to an abrupt “In addition to following a heart healthy lifestyle to
thoracic aorta, supplies rupture. reduce your risk, first degree relatives of individuals with
blood to the head, arms and Treating Aortic Disease aortic disease, such as children and siblings, should be
organs in the chest cavity. When and how to treat an aortic aneurysm or dissection screened,” adds Savage.
“Thoracic aortic disease is will depend on its size and location. “Dissections in the To make an appointment with a cardiovascular
frequently overlooked because ascending aorta closer to the heart require urgent surgery, specialist at Cleveland Clinic in Florida, please call (877)
it develops slowly and silently, while tears further from the heart in the descending aorta 463-2010 or visit ClevelandClinicFlorida.org/Heart to
and often without symptoms,” Edward Savage, M.D. may not,” Savage explains. learn more.

Book Review from page 12 “The evolution of the ox. (1) Letter aleph, the ‘ox,’ as it introductory page to the chapter about the letter “V,” which
appears in one of the Wadi el-Hol inscriptions from about 1800 features a photograph of Winston Churchill in a familiar pose
Here is an example of how the letters of today’s B.C … Unlikely as it seems, this pictorial image was the earliest and the following text:
alphabet have taken their shapes. The following, from the form of our letter A. Today the horns of the ox remain with us, “History’s famous V. British Prime Minister Winston
chapter about the letter A, is the caption that appears unnoticed, in the upright legs of our A. (2) Aleph’s shape looks Churchill gives the ‘V for Victory’ hand sign to a London crowd
in the book below the diagram on this page marked simpler in another early Semitic inscription, carved at Serabit in June 1943, during World War II. Conceived by Churchill
“Diagram A.” el-Khadem in Sinai, perhaps around 1750 B.C. (3) Two horns in summer 1941 to help boost British morale after Britain’s
are still evident in the Phoenician aleph of 1000 B.C., but the darkest war year, the V sign proved hugely popular in armies
letter is by now an abstract form, to be written in three quick and homelands of the Commonwealth and, eventually, the
strokes of an ink brush on papyrus or a stylus on ceramic. (4) United States, a symbol of defiance against Nazi Germany and
By the 800s B.C., Phoenician aleph has a new look, rather Imperial Japan. Churchill had initiated the sign as a knuckles-
more like an ox’s head, to be written in perhaps two strokes. outward gesture but had reversed it to thumb-outward after
(Can you guess where the shape would go next?)” learning that the other one already had the vulgar meaning
As serious and complex as this subject is, what makes Letter of ‘Up yours.’ Without a doubt, that continued nuance helped
Perfect a true joy to read is author David Sacks’s consistently the V sign’s popularity.”
light and approachable writing style, as is evident in his My review can be summed up in a single letter: A+.