[HTML1] Today on Your Health Matters, host Christopher Springmann looks at understanding and treating aortic root aneurysm.
The heart is a crucial organ often romanticized in literature, song and mythology, but for physician and surgeon Dr. Kenton J. Zehr, Scott & White Healthcare’s Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, the heart has a very special priority of its own.
“I always tell my patients the heart feeds itself first,” says Dr. Zehr. “And so, when you get an aneurysm in that territory, you not only have to deal with the pipe itself, but you have to deal with the origin of the coronaries, and the valve is a three dimensional structure which is slung in that region almost like the cables on a suspension bridge.”
Here are some of the terms you’ll encounter in this discussion about aortic root aneurysm. The first is aortic aneurysm, a general term for any dilation or swelling of the aorta. When the wall of aorta is stretched or torn, the blood vessel is at risk for rupture or dissection, an internal hemorrhage, which can lead to death, as occurred to actor John Ritter at age 54 and Olympic volleyball star Flo Hyman at age 31. Dr. Zehr will also discuss how an early diagnosis is crucial. Then he’ll talk about treatment strategies, the importance of knowing one’s family medical history, especially with heart disease, and how genetic testing can now determine if one has Marfan Syndrome.
More about Kenton Zehr
Dr. Kenton J. Zehr, MD is Chief of the Division on Cardiothoracic Surgery at Scott & White Healthcare’s Temple, Texas clinic. He earned a B.A. from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisburg, Virginia, and an M.D. from Pennsylvania State University at Hershey. He trained in general and cardiothoracic surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and also at Harefield Hospital in Harefield, UK. He is the co-developer of a sutureless device for coronary bypass grafting and holds patents for a novel mitral valve repair device. He consults with several groups specializing in device development and serves on several boards. Dr. Zehr joined Scott & White in 2009, where his patient care emphasis is on aortic root reconstruction, aortic and mitral valve repair, and heart failure surgery.
More about Scott & White Healthcare
When Arthur C. Scott, M.D., and Raleigh R. White Jr., M.D., began their medical practice in Temple, Texas in 1897, they shared one fundamental conviction: medicine must serve the people. Today, Scott & White Healthcare is a fully integrated health system — the largest multi-specialty practice in Texas and the sixth largest group practice in the nation. Scott & White employs more than 1,100 health care providers and research scientists who care for patients covering 25,000 square miles across Central Texas.
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