- With Mayo Clinic cardiologist
Martha Grogan, M.D.
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Martha Grogan, M.D.
Martha Grogan, M.D.
Dr. Martha Grogan is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases. She is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and received her medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School. Dr. Grogan has been on staff at Mayo Clinic since 1995 and is a consultant in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and is an assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Medical School.
Dr. Grogan is a noninvasive cardiologist specializing in heart failure, adult congenital heart disease and echocardiography. She has witnessed firsthand the importance of patient education in the treatment of diseases such as congestive heart failure and is excited about the tremendous educational opportunities now available through the Internet.
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Question
Pseudoaneurysm: What causes it?
What causes a pseudoaneurysm? Are pseudoaneurysms cause for concern?
Answer
from Martha Grogan, M.D.
A pseudoaneurysm, sometimes called a false aneurysm, can happen after an artery or heart chamber is injured. If an injury to an artery causes blood to leak and pool outside the injured artery's wall, a pseudoaneurysm can form. In a true aneurysm, blood collects inside the artery wall.
A pseudoaneurysm may be a complication of cardiac catheterization, a procedure in which a catheter is inserted in an artery in your groin (femoral artery) and is threaded through your blood vessels to your heart. Cardiac catheterization is used to capture images of your heart to diagnose heart disease and to treat certain types of heart disease. A pseudoaneurysm can occur if blood leaks and pools outside your femoral artery where it was punctured so the catheter could be inserted.
Pseudoaneurysms can also occur in the heart chambers, such as the left ventricle after damage from a heart attack causes blood to leak and pool outside the injured heart muscle.
If a pseudoaneurysm of an artery is small, it may go undetected and not cause any complications. If a pseudoaneurysm is detected, your doctor may recommend one of these treatments:
- Ultrasound-guided compression repair. In this treatment, your doctor will look for your pseudoaneurysm using ultrasound imaging. Once the pseudoaneurysm is found, your doctor presses on it to release the built-up blood.
- Ultrasound-guided medications. Your doctor may recommend having a dose of blood clot-forming medication (thrombin) injected into your pseudoaneurysm to treat it by causing the pooled blood to clot. The medication is injected into the pseudoaneurysm after it's found using ultrasound imaging.
- Surgery. If your doctor doesn't think either ultrasound-guided treatment will work, he or she may recommend surgery to correct it.
- Eastwood J. Nurse's role in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. In: Moser DK, et al. Cardiac Nursing: A Companion to Braunwald's Heart Disease. St. Louis, Mo.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:347.
- Pseudoaneurysm evaluation and treatment. UC Davis Health System. http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/vascular/lab/exams/pseudoaneurysm.html. Accessed May 5, 2010.
- Lenartova M, et al. Iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm of femoral artery: Case report and literature review. Clinical Medicine & Research. 2003;1:243.
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