The walls of arteries are very thick, but often a thinner, weaker area may develop. Because of the pressure in arteries, the thinner areas may balloon outwards creating bulge which is known as an aneurysm. Aneurysms that occur in the aorta are thus known as aortic aneurysms. Most aortic aneurysms occur in the part of the aorta that runs through the abdomen and seldom occurs in the part of the aorta that runs through the chest cavity.

Aneurysms are caused by the hardening of arterial walls, high blood pressure, injury, and birth defects. As people age, the risk of an aneurysms goes up significantly. Often, there are no symptoms of an aneurysm until is causes other problems. The few symptoms of an aneurysm, if symptoms are present, include pain in the chest or back, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, and difficulty swallowing. If the aneurysm ruptures, there is often a significant amount of blood loss which can cause loss of consciousness, shock, heart attack, and death.

Smaller aneurysms are generally harmless, but they can create other heart problems which still make smaller aneurysms an issue. There other problems include the weakening of artery walls, blood clots, stroke, and even the rupture of the aneurysm which is an extreme medical emergency.