AAAs Found Prevalent In CABG Patients

PHILADELPHIA -- Patients who have had coronary bypass surgery have an increased risk of having an abdominal aortic aneurysm, according to a single-center study presented by Dr. Carlo A. Dall'Olmo at the Vascular Annual Meeting.

"We believe that patients with a history of CABG should be added to the list of patients who are screened under the SAAAVE [Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently] Act," said Dr. Dall'Olmo, a vascular surgeon in private practice in Flint, Mich.

A total of 517 of the patients were men, of whom 47 (9%) were found by an ultrasound to have an AAA of 3 cm or greater in the anterior-posterior or transverse diameter. This compared with the usually reported prevalence of 3%-6% in men. In the group that Dr. Dall'Olmo and his associates studied, about two-thirds had not been previously diagnosed with an AAA. Six of the patients had aneurysms that were 5 cm or greater in diameter.

Of the 235 women screened, 12 (5%) had an AAA of 3 cm or greater, a rate much higher than the 1% reported prevalence for women in population-based studies. About half of the aneurysms had not been previously diagnosed, and two women had aneurysms that were 5 cm or more in diameter.

The prevalence rates also tracked higher with smoking and increased age.