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Clinical Presentation, Etiology, and Diagnostic Considerations

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Mesenteric Vascular Disease

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Abstract

Chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI) is a rare disease that affects about 1 in 100,000 individuals. It is usually the result of atherosclerotic changes of the aorta at the ostia of the mesenteric vessels. This leads to stenosis and eventually occlusion of celiac artery as well as superior and inferior mesenteric artery. It is classically characterized by abdominal pain, weight loss, and food fear. The abdominal pain is caused by a mismatch of splanchnic blood flow and intestinal metabolic demand, which leads to the onset of symptoms within 15–45 min after food intake and lasts about 3–4 h. The diagnosis of CMI is very challenging due to its low prevalence and the lack of a definitive test. Conventional angiography was the gold standard but has been largely replaced as a diagnostic tool by duplex ultrasonography (DUS) and computed tomographic angiography (CTA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Lars Stangenberg

  2. Division for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Marc L. Schermerhorn (Chief)

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  1. Lars Stangenberg
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Correspondence to Marc L. Schermerhorn .

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  1. Division of Vascular and Endovascular Therapy, Mayo Clinic Gonda Vascular Center, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Gustavo S. Oderich

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Stangenberg, L., Schermerhorn, M.L. (2015). Clinical Presentation, Etiology, and Diagnostic Considerations. In: Oderich, G. (eds) Mesenteric Vascular Disease. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1847-8_9

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