Aortic aneurysms are often called “a silent killer,” because many people are not aware they have them until the aneurysms tear or rupture, often resulting in death.
That was apparently the case with journalist Grant Wahl, 49, who collapsed in his seat Friday while covering the World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands in Lusail, Qatar.
Wahl’s wife, Céline Gounder, a physician, said that an autopsy confirmed that her husband died “from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm.”
The condition “is just one of those things that had been likely brewing for years,” Gounder said. “For whatever reason, it happened at this point in time.”
The Washington Post spoke to experts about aortic aneurysms — about who is at risk, whether they can be detected through screening and how they are treated. Here’s what they had to say.
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