Reactions to the death of journalist Grant Wahl 1:50
(CNN) --
Sports journalist Grant Wahl died from a ruptured ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium, that is, from the accumulation of blood in the sac surrounding his heart, his wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, announced Wednesday.
The aneurysm was growing slowly and had not been detected, she wrote in a statement on Substack.
"The chest pressure that he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms. Neither CPR nor shocks would have saved him. His death was not related to covid. His death was not related to his vaccination status. No there was nothing vile about his death," Gounder wrote.
Grant Wahl, a prominent sports journalist who died during the World Cup in Qatar, suffered an aortic aneurysm, according to his wife.
An aneurysm occurs when a weak spot in a blood vessel swells.
In Wahl's case, the bulge was in the aorta, the largest artery that carries blood from the heart.
An ascending aortic aneurysm occurs when the bulge is located in the section of the aorta near the heart, just where it begins to exit the lower left ventricle.
If left untreated, aneurysms can cause the wall of a blood vessel to split or burst, causing death.
An aortic aneurysm is a bulge in the aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart through the chest and torso, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Credit: Veronika Zakharova/Science Photo Library RG/Getty Images
It's very rare to survive an event like the one that happened to Wahl, said Dr. Tara Narula, a CNN medical correspondent and practicing cardiologist.
Do you stay up late?
You may be at higher risk of some chronic diseases, according to a study
Narula said that blood in the sac around the heart is an indication that the arterial wall had ruptured.
advertising
"Normally there's no blood in that space. And what can happen is if enough blood gets in, the heart can't beat because it gets compressed and it can lead to cardiac arrest," he said, adding that he couldn't comment specifically on what happened with Wahl. because I did not personally know his case.
Aortic aneurysms were the cause of death for about 10,000 people in 2019, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Chest aneurysms become more common as people age.
They are slightly more common among men than women, according to the American Heart Association.
They are usually caused by high blood pressure or sudden injuries, or by a history of high cholesterol or smoking.
Certain inherited conditions, such as Marfan syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, can make it more likely that a person will have one.
Symptoms and treatment of aortic aneurysm
Symptoms of an aortic aneurysm include:
Sudden sharp pain in the back or chest
Short of breath
Difficulty breathing or swallowing
Hoarseness
Cough
Not everyone experiences symptoms, even if it is a large aneurysm.
Actor John Ritter died suddenly in 2003 of an aortic aneurysm while rehearsing on set.
If an aneurysm is found early, it can be treated with medication or surgery.
According to the American Heart Association, aortic aneurysms have become more common in the last decade, with an increase of 75%.
Even so, they are rare and occur in two out of every 100,000 people.
Due to its association with tobacco use, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all men who have ever smoked have an ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms between the ages of 65 and 75. even if they don't have symptoms.
Abdominal aortic aneurysms are bulges of that artery that can rupture in the abdomen.
Aneurysm Cardiovascular diseases
