Introduction:
Aneurysms are characterized by widening of the arterial lumen by more than 50% in diameter in comparison to the normal dimensions of the aortic segment. They are often detected accidentally while performing other tests. Aneurysms are divided into two types: true and dissecting.

Material and methods:
All the patients who were diagnosed with a thoracic aortic aneurysm, hospitalized in the Cardiology Department in 2010–2014 were included in the study. The study group consisted of 50 patients aged 33 to 92 years, the mean age was 64 years. Among them there were 9 women and 41 men. The analysis was based on the occurrence of risk factors gathered from the history of the disease and the results of examinations, including imaging tests, treatment and prognosis.

Results:
25 persons (50%) were in the group treated conservatively and the other 25 subjects (50%) were treated surgically. The most common predisposing factors were: hypertension (n = 42; 84%), dyslipidemia (n = 25; 50%), ischemic heart disease (n = 20; 40%), smoking (n = 14; 28%) and family history (n = 14; 28%). Surgical treatment was the most frequently chosen in patients with dissecting aneurysms (n = 23; 60.5%). Nevertheless, conservative treatment was preferred with patients with a true aneurysm (n = 10; 83.3%).

Conclusions:
The study group had a great number of risk factors. Analysis of the treatment did not show the superiority of any of the methods used (surgical vs. pharmacological) and the mortality rate during hospitalization in both groups was comparable.