Oxford screening programme for abdominal aortic aneurysm in men aged 65 to 74 years

824 men aged 65 to 74 were invited for ultrasound screening of the aorta and 426 (51.7%) attended. An abdominal aortic aneurysm was discovered in 23 (5.4%), and in 10 (2.3%) the aneurysm was 4.0 cm or more in diameter. 2 other patients had a common iliac artery aneurysm. The 36 men who had objective evidence of occlusive arterial disease of the lower limbs were twice as likely to be tobacco smokers and accounted for 5 (20%) of the aneurysms discovered. Extension of this screening programme to England and Wales could be expected to identify 52,500 men with an abdominal aortic aneurysm. If elective surgical replacement of the aneurysm were to be accepted by 60% of those with aneurysms 4 cm or more in diameter, 6000 unnecessary deaths from aortic aneurysm rupture could be prevented.