Alternatively, if a clot blocks a vessel going to the brain, it can cause a stroke. In certain cases, ventricular aneurysms cause ventricular failure or arrythmia. At this stage, treatment is necessary. Causes
Ventricular aneurysms are usually complications resulting from a heart attack. When the heart muscle (cardiac muscle) partially dies during a heart attack, a layer of muscle may survive, and, being severely weakened, start to become an aneurysm. Blood may flow into the surrounding dead muscle and inflate the weakened flap of muscle into a bubble. It may also be congenital. Diagnosis
When a person visits the hospital or doctor with other symptoms, especially with a history of heart problems, they will normally be required to undergo an electrocardiogram, which monitors electrical activity within the heart and shows abnormalities when a cardiac aneurysm is present. It can also appear as a bulge on a chest x-ray, and a more accurate diagnosis will then be made using an echocardiogram, which uses ultrasound to photograph the heart and how it functions while it beats. Differential diagnosis
It should also not be confused with a pseudoaneurysm, coronary artery aneurysm or a myocardial rupture (which involves a hole in the wall, not just a bulge.) Cardiac Diverticulum
Cardiac diverticulum or ventricular diverticulum is defined as a congenital malformation of the fibrous or muscular part of the heart which is only visible during chest x-rays or during an echocardiogram reading. This should not be confused with ventricular diverticulum, as the latter is a sub type derived from the latter in congenital cases.
Intervention by a skilled physician experienced with foreign body removal from the lungs is essential. Evaluation by means of bronchoscopy can be difficult and time consuming and is best performed under general anesthesia. Casts can be removed mechanically by bronchoscopy or physical therapy. High-frequency chest wall oscillation can also be used to vibrate the chest wall at a high frequency to try to loosen and thin the casts. Inhaled therapy using bronchodilators, corticosteroids or mucolytics can be used to try to disrupt the cast formation. Guaifenesin syrup or tablets can assist in loosening existing casts for expectoration. Recently, heavy T2-weighted MRI has revealed that occult lymphatic anomalies that represent developmental remnants or subclinical GLA are present in adults who present with expectoration of large multiantennary, branching casts. Intranodal lymphangiogram and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR lymphangiography have been used to more precisely image the leaks, and in the small number of patients who have been treated to date, embolization of the thoracic duct has been highly successful in controlling cast formation.Cannulation of the thoracic duct followed by embolization should be considered in those patients who are shown to have leakage of lymphatic fluid into the airway. Medications
Therapeutic interventions with medium-chain triglyceride-enriched low-fat diets, intratracheal heparin, inhaled tissue plasminogen activator, and steroids have also been reported and have met with variable success.Expectorants such as guaifenesin increase thinner secretions and lubricate the airways, allowing loosening and possible self-expulsion of casts.