The Occurrence of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Patients with Intracranial Aneurysms: A Two-Center Experience

Arterial aneurysms at various anatomical locations are known to be associated with one another. Prior research has suggested that abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) occur more often in patients with intracranial aneurysms (IAs) compared to the general population. Unfortunately, the current body of literature on this subject is scarce. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of concomitant AAA among patients with IA.

This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at 2 collaborating neurovascular centers. Each center identified IA patients (either ruptured or unruptured). Patients were included if imaging which could detect an AAA was performed at any point in time. The primary outcome was the occurrence rate of AAA in the study population. The secondary objective was to identify potential risk factors for concomitant AAA in IA patients.

A total of 3,609 IA patients were screened of whom 1,182 underwent imaging of the abdominal aorta. After exclusion based on several criteria, 1,070 IA patients were included. Within this study cohort, an occurrence of 79 AAAs was found (7.4%). Male sex and increasing age were risk factors for the occurrence of an AAA.

Imaging in this study revealed an AAA occurrence rate of 7.4% in the included IA patients, which is substantially higher than the prevalence of the general population and the known prevalence in male individuals over 60 years. Additional risk factors include male sex and advanced age. These findings support consideration of screening for AAA in patients diagnosed with IA.