Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

In Britain 2-5% of the ageing population develop a fusiform dilatation, or aneurysm, of the infrarenal aorta.In most circumstances the aneurysm develops without symptoms and is a chance finding on either physical examination or abdominal ultrasound.In a few, abdominal symptoms or back pain may be the presenting symptom of an abdominal aortic aneurysm whilst others present after the aneurysm has ruptured.As the aneurysm enlarges the risk of rupture increases."In a fit patient, with a large aneurysm, elective repair with a Dacron graft is recommended: this is a safe, durable procedure.This synopsis might give the impression that there are few problems concerning the management of abdominal aortic aneurysm by modern medicine.This is not true.The increasing incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm, together with the ageing of the population, provide a growing burden on health resources.There are no diagnostic criteria, other than size, to indicate which aneurysms are at greatest risk of rupture and therefore in most urgent need of repair.The aetiology of aneurysms is a matter of current debate: progress is needed urgently to initiate the development of new treatments to limit aneurysm growth.