Aneurysm of the aorta: in most cases, it is caused by atherosclerosis. Among other possible causes: syphilis, traumas, degeneration of the middle layer of the arterial wall. In 75% of cases the aneurysm is localized at the abdominal aorta level: the most affected in this case are men over sixty. The second, in order of frequency, is the localization at the level of the thoracic aorta, more rare is that at the level of the ascending aorta.
Atherosclerosis: it is a disease in which arteries are narrowed or hardened. In the arteries yellow plaques of lipid, protein and fibrous material are formed, called aretomes. When peripheral arteries of small caliber are affected by this process, it is called arteriosclerosis, while atherosclerosis is typical of elastic arteries. It occurs with advancing age, even if the deposit of plaques begins from a young age, especially in conjunction with risk factors such as poor nutrition and smoking.
Hydrocopericardium: non-inflammatory effusion in the pericardial cavity, due for example to water retention or heart failure. The liquid exudation is caused by the increase of the hydrostatic pressure inside the intrathoracic veins, as a consequence of the inability of the heart to expel all the incoming blood.
Cardiac hypertrophy: thickening of the heart muscle consisting of an enlargement of the myofibrils that make up the muscular part of the heart. Hypertrophy can be a physiological phenomenon (understood as a simple adaptation of a healthy heart to physical effort) or a pathological phenomenon. Some of the most frequent causes of the pathological phenomenon are arterial hypertension, heart valve diseases, ischemic heart disease.
Cardiac myxoma: neoplasm composed of mesenchymal cells that may arise in isolation (90-95% of cases) or following a syndrome (the Carney complex). The histogenesis of this type of cancer has not yet been identified. 75% of myxomas develop in the left atrium, the rest in the right atrium, and a rather low percentage develops in the valves. The clinical spectrum can be very wide: there can be a total absence of symptoms, or the so-called mixoma triad can manifest, which includes embolic phenomena, intracardiac flow obstruction, accelerated heartbeat and constitutional symptoms. This symptomatology is however not very specific and could therefore be misdiagnosed by the doctors.