High prevalence of ascending aortic dilatation in a consecutive coronary CT angiography patient population

To clarify the prevalence and risk factors of ascending aortic (AA) dilatation according to ESC 2014 guidelines.

This study included 1000 consecutive patients scheduled for diagnostic coronary artery computed tomographic angiography. AA diameter was retrospectively measured in 3 planes: sinus valsalva, sinotubular junction, and tubular part. The threshold for AA dilatation was set to > 40 mm which has been suggested as an upper normal limit for AA diameter in ESC 2014 guidelines on aortic diseases. Aortic size index (ASI) using the ratio between aortic diameter and body surface area (BSA) was applied as a comparative measurement. The threshold for AA dilatation was set to the upper limit of normal distribution exceeding two standard deviations (95%). Risk factors for AA dilatation were collected from medical records.

The patients' mean age was 52.9 ± 9.8 years (66.5% women). The prevalence of AA dilatation was 23.0% in the overall study population (52.5% males) and 15.1% in the subgroup of patients with no coronary artery disease or bicuspid (BAV)/mechanical aortic valve (n = 365). According to the normal-distributed ASI values, the threshold for sinus valsalva was defined as 23.2 mm/m² and for tubular part 22.2 mm/m² in the subgroup. Higher BSA was associated with larger AA dimensions (r = 0.407, p < 0.001). Male gender (p < 0.001), BAV (p < 0.001), hypertension (p = 0.009) in males, and smoking (p < 0.001) appeared as risk factors for AA dilatation.

The prevalence of AA dilatation is high with current ESC guidelines for normal AA dimension, especially in males. Body size is strongly associated with AA dimensions; it would be more reliable to use BSA-adjusted AA diameters for the definition of AA dilatation.

• The prevalence of AA dilatation is high in patients who are candidates for coronary CT angiography. • Body size is strongly associated with AA dimensions.