Aortic aneurysm is an abnormal, localized swelling of the aortic artery which exposes the patient to the risk of rupture of the artery wall, a severe complication. Depending on the localization of the disorder, the aneurysm can be on an ascending aorta, on the arch aorta, on the descending thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta or a combination of these.

Four arteries, two carotid arteries, one on each side of the neck and two vertebral arteries, all supply for the brain.

The aortocoronary bypass is a surgical procedure used in the treatment of ischemic cardiopathy, disease cause by decreased oxygen pumped to the heart muscle. The disease is caused by the narrowing or even complete blockage of the coronary arteries responsible in charge with “supplying” the heart; this leads to chest pain, called angina pectoris.

Congenital heart defects are disorders present at birth, imputable to abnormal development of the heart during the intrauterine life. These defects are varied and complex, the majority requiring corrective surgery during childhood. A part of these disorders however, allow survival until adulthood and patients with such conditions can have surgery at the Cardiology Hospital of Brasov.

Left ventricular aneurysm consists of a patch of heart muscle, which swells up in the first weeks following a myocardial infarction, the aneurysm actually representing a complication of the infarction that was not properly treated, resulting in decreased force of contraction of the left ventricle (heart pump is no longer effective); in this case, the patient is easily fatigued, is intolerant to slight efforts, presents heart rhythm disorders (palpitations) and risks developing blood clots, which lead to embolisms.

Artery bypasses are designed for patients diagnosed with chronic obliterative arteriopathy of the lower limbs, disease characterized by the obstruction of the arteries at various levels, leading to leg pain (intermittent claudication).

Cardiac tumours are incidentally discovered through cardiac echography or as result of complications represented by syncope (loss of consciousness) due to the obstruction of the blood flow or as ischemic vascular disorders generated by the embolism of a tumour fragment.

The aortic aneurysm is an abnormal, localized swelling of the aortic artery which exposes the patient to the risk of rupture of the artery wall, a severe complication. Depending on the localization of the disorder, the aneurysm can be on an ascending aorta, on the arch aorta, on the descending thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta or a combination of these. It is important to know, that once present, aortic aneurysms keep expanding, that the larger the aneurysm the higher the rate of growth and that the majority of patients with aneurysms die due to the rupture of the aneurysm, without proper surgical treatment.

These procedures are designed to correct the defects of the heart valves. There are four valves inside the heart (aortic, mitral, pulmonary and tricuspid), which determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart in only one direction. The “anomaly” of these structures will either prevent the valves from opening fully (valve stenosis), or from closing fully, allowing a reversal of the blood flow (valvular heart disease). In both situations, the heart will “work” under abnormal conditions and in time, the patient will develop shortness of breath (dyspnoea), precordial chest pain, fatigue or loss of consciousness.