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Research suggests screening men over 65 for aortic aneurysms may prevent premature death. One of the many things you don't want when you're older is an aortic aneurysm. That's when the main artery leading from your heart as it goes through the abdomen balloons out. The balloon is the aneurysm and once it reaches over 5½ cm in diameter, the chances of it popping catastrophically are quite high. There are fewer bigger surgical emergencies - but the tragedy is the pain is often confused for something else. That's one reason why three quarters of people with a leaking aneurysm die before ever getting to hospital, half of the rest never get to theatre and of those who do, 40 percent will die. Statistics don't come much worse than that - especially when the risks of having an aneurysm repaired before it leaks are very small. A couple of studies from the UK have found that it's cost effective to screen men (they are more at risk than women) at the age of 65 using a simple, painless ultrasound of the abdomen. If an aneurysm's found then it can be monitored and repaired if it's becoming too large. Sound's sound to me.
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