Looking to create awareness of aortic diseases such as aortic dissection and aortic aneurysms, surgeons and physicians from the 星空无限传媒 Multidisciplinary Aortic Center hosted the inaugural Aortic Dissection and Aneurysm Awareness Day. Featured speakers included (Visiting Professor of Surgery and Chief, Stony Brook Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery); (Assistant Professor of Surgery, 星空无限传媒 Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery), (Professor of Surgery, Stony Brook Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and Chair, Stony Brook Department of Surgery); (Assistant Professor of Surgery, Cardiovascular and Lifestyle Medicine (CALM)), and (Director of Thoracic Aortic Surgery/Co-Director Maimonides Aortic Center, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY), were joined by aortic disease survivors Robert Glass (board member for ), and Stony Brook patients Demir Aksehirli and Howard Kanowitz.
The event, which took place on October 8th at the Wang Center on the Stony Brook University campus, offered attendees expert talks by leading aortic disease physicians, patient testimonials and experiences shared by invited survivors, and screening stations offering vascular ultrasound/AAA screenings. The impressive turnout for this first-time event prompted great questions and participation from the audience.
Drs. Chaer and Youdelman, and Robert Glass and opened the event with a welcome message and introductory presentations. Glass shared how the discovery of a growing aneurysm in 2015, and a CT scan that showed it had increased in size by 2019, set him on the path to seek help and to get the rest of his family tested, which revealed his father had a previously unknown small aneurysm. Spurred on by that experience, Glass became involved with Think Aorta, which works to provide worldwide education about aortic disease.
Multidisciplinary Aortic Center
Dr. Chaer's talk about Stony Brook's Multidisciplinary Aortic Center (MAC) led off the presentations. The MAC was designed to provide comprehensive care for patients with aortic diseases such as aneurysms and dissections. Treatment at the MAC typically involves a team of specialists, including cardiologists, vascular surgeons, cardiac surgeons, geneticists and multiple other specialists who collaborate to offer tailored treatment plans and long-term follow-up care.
"I am thrilled and grateful we are able to reach out to the public and medical community to increase the awareness about aortic diseases," - Dr. Rabih Chaer
Aortic disease is highly complex and potentially lethal and treatment options are continuously evolving. With that in mind, the utility of multidisciplinary aortic teams is critical in not only the immediate management of acute aortic dissection or rupture but also in the post hospitalization and management thereafter and being able to offer the latest cutting-edge technologies. Dr. Chaer also stressed that Stony Brook University Hospital's (the only academic university hospital on Long Island) Aortic Center is the only center of its kind in Suffolk County for patients with aortic conditions.
"I am thrilled and grateful we are able to reach out to the public and medical community to increase the awareness about aortic diseases," said Dr. Chaer. "The patient testimonials at the Stony Brook inaugural Aortic Awareness Day were invaluable and stress the importance of multidisciplinary lifelong care of patients with aortic aneurysm and dissection."
Patient Experiences/Testimonials
Next up were the invited patient speakers, Demir Aksehirli and Howard Kanowitz. Each offered very personal and very touching stories of the before, after during of their journey through aortic disease: Aksehirli with aortic dissection and cardiac surgery, and Kanowitz with aortic aneurysm and vascular surgery. "[It was] very beneficial to me to hear experts in the field, which included the amazing doctors and medical staff at 星空无限传媒, and others who have had similar experiences," said Aksehirli. "I am hopeful that sharing my story added awareness to people who attended the event and others who may be going through this medical condition.鈥
Aortic Dissection
After the first question and answer (Q&A) session, and a break for lunch, the event continued with the second part of our expert speaker list. Cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Price, spoke about aortic dissection.
An aortic dissection is a tear in the aorta that typically occurs when the inner layer of the artery鈥檚 wall weakens. Unless it's treated, the tear can enlarge, which allows blood to pass through the tear and into the middle layer of the vessel wall causing the layers to separate from one another. This can compromise blood flow to vital organs and potentially cause a heart attack, kidney failure, stroke, paralysis and intestinal and lower extremity ischemia (inadequate blood flow). Aortic dissections can rupture if left untreated, leading to life-threatening complications.
"[It was] very beneficial to me to hear experts in the field, which included the amazing doctors and medical staff at 星空无限传媒, and others who have had similar experiences," - Demir Aksehirli
Dr. Price discussed the risk factors of aortic dissection, which include: male sex, age 60+, uncontrolled hypertension, atherosclerosis, cardiac surgery, aortic aneurysm, genetic diseases such as Turner syndrome, Marfan syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, injury from an accident or structural heart problems. He commented that symptoms such as severe, sharp, or tearing pain in the chest or upper back, sudden stomach pain, shortness of breath, stroke-like symptoms, weak pulse in one arm or thigh compared to the other, difficulty walking or leg pain can be similar to a heart attack or other cardiovascular illness.
Diagnosing a dissection is usually done by a physical exam, CT scan and/or magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA). Depending on the severity and type of dissection, medications, lifestyle modifications, endovascular repair (such as a thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR)) or open repair surgeries are the recommended treatment options.
Aortic Aneurysm
Following Dr. Price, vascular surgeon and 星空无限传媒 Department of Surgery Chair, Dr. Tassiopoulos, discussed aortic aneurysm. An aortic aneurysm is a bulge that appears when the aortic wall weakens. There are often no symptoms with this aneurysm, and if the bulge continues to grow it could rupture and possibly lead to death. When there are symptoms, they commonly include pain located in the abdomen, back or flank, and in half of patients with a rupture, there is severe acute pain, a pulsatile abdominal mass and hypotension.
Among the risk factors for a an aortic aneurysm are male sex, age 60+, family history, current or past tobacco use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, previous aneurysm, connective tissue disorders and obesity. There are two options for diagnosing an aortic aneurysm: noninvasive, which can include a physical exam, abdominal duplex ultrasound, CT scan and an MRA; or invasive, which would entail an arteriography. Treatment options may include lifestyle modifications (quitting smoking, eating healthy), controlling cholesterol/high blood pressure, increasing physical activity, managing diabetes and surgical options such as a minimally invasive endovascular repair or EVAR or an open repair performed through a large abdominal incision that exposes the aneurysmal aorta.
Aortic Pathology
The last of our expert talks was "Aortic Diseases: A Cardiologist perspective" presented by Dr. Franco. He focused on how determining a patient's risks, such as hypertension, inflammation, lipids and genetics, can help contribute to aortic pathology before it reaches a surgeon. He also spoke about shared decision making between the physician and patient by:
- Clarifying clinical status and risks
- Presenting exercise options and trade-offs
- Eliciting patient values and preferences
- Weighing trade-offs jointly
"Treatment of aortic disease diseases is best approached as a team or multiple members, [to] ensure the best outcome," said Dr. Franco. "Having a cardiologist, surgeon, expert imagers and an informed public will yield the best results."
"Treatment of aortic disease diseases is best approached as a team or multiple members, [to] ensure the best outcome," - Dr. Joseph Franco
After a final Q&A session and closing remarks, the first Aortic Awareness Day came to a close with the promise of a bigger and better event next year.
For full-size photos, please visit the 2025 Aortic Awareness Day photo gallery page.
For More Information
For consultations and/or appointments with an aortic disease surgical specialist, please call (631) 638-1670.