Great Article on Aortic Dissection "Beating A Sudden Killer"

I was contacted a few months back about a young man working on his doctorate degree. He was specializing in the aortic dissection field. He started this website, IradOnLine.org  and has done a great job on the site. I highly recommend it. I was actually out there myself today and came across an article by Dr. John A. Elefteriades. It was titled, "Beating A Sudden Killer" and I believe it's a very well written article that everyone should read.  One of the "key" things that weight lifters need to be careful of is heavy lifting when they have the presence of any enlarge aorta due to aneurysm growing inside of them. The intense pressure put on from heavy lifting is just speeding up the process for that aneurysm to blow up or dissect. Both of these conditions are very fatal and should be treated immediately. However, how do you know if you are that weight lifter and that you might have that "something" growing inside of your aorta?  Do you have a history of aneurysms in your family? Do you have a history of aortic dissections? Do you have high blood pressure? All of these questions could help you to determine if you are at risk and should perhaps lay off the "heavy lifting" as it could potentially kill you.  According to this article, only 5% of these aneurysms/dissections are from Marfan's patients.

I highly recommend reading this article and educating yourself and family about these conditions.

Dr. John A. Elefteriades, M.D., F.A.C.S. can be seen at the Yale School of Surgery. This is also one of the best places to get aortic care.

Thanks,

Brian