Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Aneurysms
An aneurysm is a bulge or "ballooning" in the wall of an artery. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to other parts of the body. If an aneurysm grows large, it can burst and cause dangerous bleeding or even death.
Most aneurysms occur in the aorta, the main artery that runs from the heart through the chest and abdomen. Aneurysms also can happen in arteries in the brain, heart and other parts of the body. If an aneurysm in the brain bursts, it causes a stroke.
Aneurysms can develop and become large before causing any symptoms. Often doctors can stop aneurysms from bursting if they find and treat them early. They use imaging tests to find aneurysms. Often aneurysms are found by chance during tests done for other reasons. Medicines and surgery are the two main treatments for aneurysms.
It sits within Blood, Heart and Circulation.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Aneurysms
1,879 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Evaluation Of Cost-Effectiveness Of Iliac Branch EndoprosthesesProf. Andrea Kahlberg
- GORE® TAG® Thoracic Branch Endoprosthesis Zone 0/1 Post-Approval StudyW.L.Gore & Associates
- Post Market Registry for GORE® TAG® Thoracic Branch EndoprosthesisW.L.Gore & Associates
- Lumbar Drain With Intrathecal Nicardipine in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid HemorrhageWake Forest University Health Sciences
- Mortality Outcome of Controlled HypertensionDejthidaNathaphong
- A Standard Carbon Dioxide Flushing Protocol to Reduce Air Embolization During Thoracic Endovascular Aortic RepairUniversity of Bologna
Research already completed
- Sex Disparities in Hypoxic Sympatholysis and Impact of ObesityUniversity of Missouri-Columbia
- Follow-up After Endovascular Repair of Abdominal Aortic AneurysmUniversity of California, San Francisco
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- What Is an Aneurysm?American Heart Association
Diagnosis and Tests
- Heart Health Tests: MedlinePlus Health TopicNational Library of Medicine
- Tests for Lung DiseaseNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Ultrasound -- VascularRadiological Society of North America
Treatments and Therapies
- Aneurysm RepairTexas Heart Institute
- Catheter EmbolizationRadiological Society of North America
Related Issues
- Pseudoaneurysm: What Causes It?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: AneurysmNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Aneurysm. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Aneurysms, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.