Familial tendency for abdominal aortic aneurysms

To examine the hypothesis that a tendency toward aneurysmal degeneration of the abdominal aorta may be inherited, we compared the family histories of 250 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) with those of 250 control subjects. Among the control subjects, six (2.4%) reported having a first-degree relative with an aneurysm, compared with 48 (19.2%) of the patients with AAA. After adjustment for age and sex, this corresponds to an estimated 11.6-fold increase in AAA risk among persons with an affected first-degree relative. This study suggests that the relatives of patients with AAA may themselves be at significantly increased risk for the development of aneurysmal degeneration. Because early diagnosis and elective management of AAA significantly prolong life, noninvasive screening to detect early AAA formation may be warranted in relatives of patients with AAA.