Any Doctors? Severed abdominal aorta?

[sullimonkey]

if you severed your abdonimal aorta, how long would it take for you to bleed out and die???

[meglet]

Pretty quickly and AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) can be very difficult to spot, as was shown on a episode of Casualty recently. If it has been diagnosed there are treatments. See here:

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/aortic _aneurysm.html

[Azalian]

In response to a fall in blood pressure, specilised cells in the kidneys release Angiotensin 1 into the blood stream, this acts upon a gammaglobulin in the plasma to form Angiotensin 2, the most powerful vasoconstrictor known.
This has the effect of shutting down pereferral capillaries and concentrating blood supply at the body core.

This is generally a good thing when the blood loss is from, say, a severed artery in the arm or leg but is extremely bad if
the blood loss is internal to the body cavity, ina major vessel like the aorta or the vena cavae, since it ramps up blood pressure in the major torsal vessels and increases blood loss.

Pressure in the aorta is about as high as it gets in the body and exsanguination will proceed at a brisk pace with severe hypovolimic shock setting in in seconds and unconciousness, coma and permanent cessation of respiration and heartbeat in a very short space of time, say a maximum of 5 minutes.

[mrs_overall]

My dad died from a ruptured abdominal aorta. One minute he was sitting chatting and a nanosecond later he was dead. I wasn't with him but my sisters said it was quicker than the blink of an eye.

[Peter Pedant]

Ah the above is about AAA

and the q was about severing the aorta.....

The aorta is pretty big and if you transect it (cut it in half like a hose) , I would say less than a minute.

However stabs to the stomach/adbomen can nick the aorta - and then it would be a few minutes - a small nick perhpas 15 mins

stiletto - 5 ,mins and a claymore, a few seconds

[sullimonkey]

thank you azalian and peter pedant, theyr'e brill answers!
mrs_overall, i'm so sorry about your father, i really appreciate you sharing that with me XXXX

[pjmonkey]

I had my aorta nicked during colectomy surgery. I lived to tell. I am told I am very lucky. The surgery took 3 hours, I lost 5 litres of blood and was resuscitated. I don't think I really get how lucky I am. I can only imagine what the doctors, nurses and my husband went through. I am at home, 6 weeks later, recovering.