Prof. Raimund Erbel and Prof. Victor Aboyans discuss the 2014 European Society of Cardiology guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of aortic diseases with Emma Wilkinson

摘要

It has been more than a decade since the European Society of Cardiology last issued advice on aortic disease.With advances in imaging, surgery, and treatment, the topic has once again been looked at, but this time the guideline covers not just acute aortic syndromes but the full aorta-thoracic and abdominal-issuing recommendations on acute and chronic disease as well as genetic and congenital diseases.Co-chair Prof. Raimund Erbel, Director of the Department of Cardiology at the West-German Heart Center in Essen said that, backin 2001, aortic dissection was discussed more within thef ields of surgery and vascular surgery than cardiology. But advances in transoesophageal imaging gave cardiologists a tool with which to guide decision-making.Add in vastly improved capabilities of CT scanning and several developments in treatment options and the time had come to revisit the aorta, he says.