Q:
I went for a chest Xray for a cough and it was normal but on the report it said uncoiling of the thoracic aorta???? I asked my Dr what it meant and he didn’t know..(LOL).. So does anyone know what causes this and is there a way to reverse it.. I do not have high blood pressure and also do not have anxiety. Thank you for the answers ahead of time.. I just want to make sure this isn’t anything serious.
A:
Uncoiled Aorta (with apologies for poor drafting): The yellow line shows a normal curve of the aorta. The Blue line on the right shows a straighter, wider curve,”uncoiled”.
It is nothing serious by itself. “Uncoiled Aorta” reflects a change of the silhouette of the thoracic aorta as seen on the X ray. It usually refers to a mild enlargement and straightening of the thoracic aorta on the imaging test. It is an indication of normal aging, atherosclerosis and hypertension.
It is not a sign of anything serious unless there are other findings such as an aneurysm. I never understand why this type of “technical” information is passed on to patients. If it came up in one of mine, I would interpret it as confirmation of things I already knew such as atherosclerosis etc. and consider treatment of for instance the hypertension. As with any test, there is usually lots of unnecessary information that a physician must put into context before passing it on to his or her patient. This is one of those things.
Hope this helps,
Dr T
http://www.cardiac-risk-assessment.com/
Comments 3
I, just, come out of Emergency Room
with : Chest X report .
The report show Mild – aortic uncoiling.
Thanks for explanation on it.
I also learned that a chest x-ray showed that I have Uncoiling and tortuosity of the thoracic aorta. My doctor did not inform me of the condition, but when he retired my new doctor placed into the medical file that I had Atherosclerosis of Aorta. When I questioned her, she said the X-ray done in 2014 showed the Uncoiling and Tortuosity of the Thoracic. Please explain the difference between the two diagnoses.
I am going through the exact same thing right now. Went for chest xrays to determine or rule out pneumonia. Report says that I have “uncoiling of the aorta” indicative of hypertension.
I looked up hypertension. From what I’m reading, it doesn’t fit. I don’t have high blood pressure at all, and in fact, I have low blood pressure.
I was diagnosed last year with Bracacardia and I know I have a back flow issue and soem other minor things that may one day become major. But what is this uncoiling thing supposed to mean without high blood pressure! It’s quite confusing. Of course, I’ll be sending the report to my cardiologist for answers.