Risk factors for Aortic Aneurysm

A risk factor is something that increases your chance of getting a disease or condition.Risk factors for an aortic aneurysm include the following:

• High blood pressure
• Smoking
• Arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis
• Inherited connective tissue defects ( Marfan syndrome , Ehlers-Danlos syndrome )
• Polyarteritis nodosa
• Bacterial endocarditis
• Syphilis
• Age: 60 or older
• History of heart attack
• Obesity
• Family members with aneurysms, particularly male children of an effected mother
• Infectious aortitis
• Great vessel arteritis (Takayasu’s disease)
• Injury to the aorta, from either a motor vehicle accident or a stab wound

The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that men aged 65-75 who have ever smoked be screened once for abdominal aortic aneurysm with ultrasound . This is a painless procedure that gives a picture of the abdomen using sound waves. Early detection of abdominal aortic aneurysm in this group has been shown to reduce mortality from this condition.