Commentary: A unique presentation of embolic phenomena from an ascending aortic pseudoaneurysm

Abstract

Ascending aortic pseudoaneurysms (AAPs) are rare, with an incidence reported of only 0.5%. A recent review of literature by Quevedo and colleagues1 identified 355 cases of AAP, 76% that were associated with a history of cardiac or aortic surgery, 5% were attributed to blunt chest trauma, 4.4% were attributed to inflammatory or autoimmune conditions, and 10.6% had no identifiable cause. The same study found that almost 73.8% were treated with open repair, 21.2% underwent endovascular repair, and the remainder were treated conservatively.