Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm in the Jeddah area, western Saudi Arabia

Atherosclerosis and its complications are associated with high morbidity and mortality in the elderly. One of these complications is abdominal aortic aneurysm which may be prevented from rupturing if diagnosed early. Screening for aortic aneurysm was carried out in Jeddah, which is in the western region of Saudi Arabia, to identify the magnitude of this problem. Three groups were studied: patients with hypertension (n = 101), patients with peripheral vascular disease (n = 71) and a third group of a controls (n = 220). The mean (range) age of the whole sample was 66.0 (60-80) years. Evidence of aortic aneurysm was found in seven participants: five in the peripheral vascular disease group (7.0%), one in the hypertensive group (1.0%) and one in the controls (0.5%). In view of the expected increase in the elderly population of Saudi Arabia, as a result of improvements in health care which have recently been achieved, it is expected that a similar increase in the incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm may occur. Routine screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm in the elderly, especially in those with peripheral vascular disease, may be worthwhile.