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73 Years Old. Chest X-ray Showed Slightly Prominent Aorta. Should I Be Worried?

Posted on Wed, 6 Feb 2013

Question: My doctor recently told me I had a slightly prominent aorta after a chest x XXXXXXX for bronchitis. He told me not to worry, nothing to worry about, but he was obliged to mention it and if I have to go to the surgery for anything else just get my heart checked. I have worried ever since and now I keep taking involuntary breaths almost every hour! I am 73 years old and have always been very healthy and walk for about an hour every day with my dog. At the moment I am housesitting for a friend in another part of the country so unable to get back to my doctor for a month, so do I need to worry?
Regards XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Sadiq Mughal (4 hours later)

Hi, thanks for writing to us.

At the outset I assure you that there is nothing to worry.

Prominence of aortic knuckle means the way aorta unfolds when it come out of heart. It is a normal finding on chest X XXXXXXX in many people. It occurs without reasons. However the most common reason for prominence of aortic knuckle is atherosclerosis (chronic inflammatory process of fat deposition in vessels) which is an age related event. Besides that chronic increase in blood pressure also causes prominent aortic knuckle.

If your hypertensive keep your blood pressure under control. In addition please get your blood tested for lipid profile to know about the risks of atherosclerosis

Hope this answers your question. Let me know if you have any more queries.

Take care

Regards
Dr Sadiq.

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad