<p>Early Detection of Undiagnosed Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Sub-Aneurysmal Aortic Dilatations in Patients with High-Risk Coronary Artery Disease: The Value of Targetted Screening Programme</p>

Abstract

Introduction: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and coronary artery disease (CAD) share common risk factors. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed AAA in patients with angiographically diagnosed significant CAD. Patients and Methods: Male patients aged 50 years and above (including indigenous people) with angiographically diagnosed significant CAD in the recent one year were screened for AAA. Standard definition of abdominal aortic aneurysm and CAD was used. All new patients were followed up for six months for AAA events (ruptured AAA and AAA-related mortality). Results: A total of 277 male patients were recruited into this study. The total prevalence of undiagnosed AAA in this study population was 1.1% (95% CI 0.2-3.1). In patients with highrisk CAD, the prevalence of undiagnosed AAA was 1.7% (95% CI 0.3-4.8). The detected aneurysms ranged in size from 35.0mm to 63.8mm. Obesity was a common factor in these patients. There were no AAA-related mortality or morbidity during the follow-up. Although the total prevalence of undiagnosed AAA is low in the studied population, the prevalence of subaneurysmal aortic dilatation in patients with significant CAD was high at 6.6% (95% CI 3.9--10.2), in which majority were within the younger age group than 65 years old. Conclusion:This was the first study on the prevalence of undiagnosed AAA in a significant CAD population involving indigenous people in the island of Borneo. Targeted screening of patients with high-risk CAD even though they are younger than 65 years old effectively discover potentially harmful asymptomatic AAA and sub-aneurysmal aortic dilatations.

Identification of a Plasma Microrna Signature as Biomarker of Subaneurysmal Aortic Dilation in Patients with High Cardiovascular Risk

“…Most screening programs are related to male gender, age ≥ 65 years, and smoking. However, in our study, 40% of patients with SAD and 20% with AAA were under 65 years [ 45 ]. These populations would never be identified with the screening programs, suggesting that targeted screening of AAA should be tailored to younger patients with high cardiovascular risk.…”

The Emerging Role of Raman Spectroscopy as an Omics Approach for Metabolic Profiling and Biomarker Detection toward Precision Medicine

“…Early detection is key to determining therapeutic options for patients with this serious condition. 178 SAM characterizes the morphological and mechanical properties of tissues where a focused high-frequency ultrasound is applied to samples to obtain acoustic impedance signals. Their findings suggest that older female patients have a stiffer aortic wall with a higher acoustic impedance correlated to aging and lower estrogen levels.…”

The Important Role of Endothelium and Extracellular Vesicles in the Cellular Mechanism of Aortic Aneurysm Formation

“…Aortic aneurysms (AA) take the form of fusiform or circular abnormal bumps in the aortic wall. AA is the most commonly defined as a pathological dilatation of the aortic segment by ≥50% of the initial vessel diameter [ 27 ]. The aortic aneurysms may develop in the thoracic (TAA) and the abdominal aorta (AAA), which are also the most common type of aneurysm [ 28 ].…”