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Does a Heart Aneurysm Require Surgery

Aneurysm of the heart is a condition that occurs when a patch of weak tissues of the ventricular wall swell and are filled with blood. When the walls of the left heart ventricle weaken, they fail to withstand the pressure created by the heart as it pumps blood. This heart disease is mainly associated with myocardial infarction, which is commonly referred to as heart attack.

Myocardial infarction occurs from interruption of blood supply to parts of the heart, which results to death of cells causing a myocardial scar. Unlike other forms of aneurysm such as aorta aneurysm and cerebral aneurysm, the heart aneurysm may not be susceptible to rupturing of the wall of the heart and this is because the scar lining prevents it from rupturing.

Because the Aneurysm heart disease tends to develop progressively, signs are not easily noticed. Some other conditions may manifest such as blood clots (thrombosis), which result from the heart condition.  Clots cause stroke and block other blood vessels. The diagnosis of the aneurysm of the heart can be done through;

• Electrocardiogram
• Chest x-ray
• Echocardiogram

 There are mainly three ways in which treatment of ventricular aneurysm heart disease is done and these are;

• Administration of blood thinning agents to prevent blood clotting.
• Administration of drugs to correct irregular rhythm of the heart.
• Surgery procedures

Blood thinning agents and drugs to correct the irregular rhythm of the heart are the main treatment methods. Because of the sensitivity of the heart, surgery is occasionally done as the last option to remove the bulge and reconstruct the damaged tissue and it’s extremely difficult. There are great risks attached to the surgery procedure.

Most of the cardiac aneurysm occurs in men aged 40 and above who suffer large heart attacks. Also up to 25% of persons that develop a large area of dead heart muscle that occur from a heart attack are likely to develop this heart disease. Therefore, if you experience heart attacks, there is need to seek a doctor to examine your heart status. The early the diagnosis for the heart aneurysm is done the easier it is to treat with medication.