![]() I learned to respect the thoracic aorta by reviewing tens of thousands of CT heart scans and echocardiograms over many years of clinical practice in cardiology in which we readily see this piece of human anatomy with such imaging tests. But it is the initial several centimeters of thoracic aorta that is the recipient of this high-pressure, turbulent flow and the source of most health problems arising from this blood vessel. The thoracic aorta, normally about 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) in diameter, arises from the heart, ascends in the chest cavity, turns left (your left), then descends into the lower chest and abdomen, giving rise to the arteries of the neck/brain, arms, abdomen, pelvis, and legs along the way. Each time your heart beats (contracts), around 80 milliliters (just under 1/2-cup) of blood is ejected past the aortic valve and into the thoracic aorta, around 5 liters (roughly 5 quarts) of blood every minute. It can determine, for instance, whether you have a stroke at age 65, develop aortic valve disease that needs to be remedied by surgical replacement of the valve to keep you alive, or have numerous other health conditions, all centering around this several inch-long artery (shown in the diagram as the purple tubular structure).Ī quick anatomy lesson: the thoracic aorta is the biggest artery in the body, the first artery that receives high-volume, high-velocity, high-shear blood flow that is ejected with each heartbeat from the main pumping chamber of the heart, the left ventricle. ![]() Yet it can play a crucial role in your long-term health. The thoracic aorta, deep in your chest, is not something most of us contemplate very often.
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