Key result
Screening patients with associated conditions such as intracranial aneurysm, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and bicuspid aortic valve can facilitate the early detection of silent thoracic aortic aneurysms.
Why the study?
Does screening patients with associated medical conditions or anatomic variants improve the detection of silent thoracic aortic aneurysms?
Does screening patients with associated medical conditions or anatomic variants improve the detection of silent thoracic aortic aneurysms?
Screening patients with specific associated conditions or anatomic variants may provide a powerful opportunity to diagnose silent thoracic aortic aneurysms and prevent related mortality.
May support targeted screening in select high-risk patients; leaves open need for prospective validation.
Recent studies have confirmed a close association between various medical conditions (intracranial aneurysm, abdominal aortic aneurysm, temporal arteritis, autoimmune disorder, renal cysts), certain aortic anatomic variants (bovine aortic arch, direct origin of left vertebral artery from aortic arch, bicuspid aortic valve), and family history of aneurysm disease with thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection. This paper reviews these associations. We propose to capitalise on these associations as powerful and expanding opportunities to diagnose the virulent but silent disease of thoracic aortic aneurysm. This can be accomplished by recognition of this 'guilt by association' with the other conditions. Thus, patients with associated diseases and anatomic variants should be investigated for silent aortic aneurysms. Such a paradigm holds substantial potential for reducing death from the silent killer represented by thoracic aortic aneurysm disease.
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Elefteriades et al. (2015) conducted a review in Thoracic aortic aneurysm. Guilt by association screening paradigm was evaluated. Screening patients with associated conditions such as intracranial aneurysm, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and bicuspid aortic valve can facilitate the early detection of silent thoracic aortic aneurysms.
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