Usefulness of Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm During Transthoracic Echocardiography in Women ≥50 Years of Age

Abstract

Usefulness of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) during transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in women is uncertain. The aim of the present study was to clarify the clinical usefulness of screening for AAA during TTE and to identify important TTE indices associated with AAA in women in a routine clinical setting. We prospectively studied 1,495 women (≥50 years) referred for TTE. AAA was defined as ≥30 mm in size. The additional screening time for AAA was <1 minute. The abdominal aorta was visualized in 95.1 % (1,422 of 1,495) using the same TTE probe. AAA was identified in 1.9% (27 of 1422). The aortic root size was larger in patients with AAA than those without (33.3 ± 3.2 vs 30.5 ± 3.4 mm, p < 0.001). The aortic root size had a correlation with abdominal aortic size (r = 0.22, p < 0.001). The aortic root size of ≥30.3 mm was predictive of AAA (area under the curve = 0.74, p < 0.001) and all patients with AAA had the aortic root size of ≥28.0 mm. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the aortic root size (Odds ratio 1.17, p = 0.007) was a most independent TTE index of AAA. In conclusion, the visibility of the abdominal aorta using TTE probe was excellent. When the aortic root size is ≥28.0 mm during TTE in women ≥50 years of age, screening for AAA should be carried out.