When Should a Scan Be Carried Out?

A scan should always be carried out when an AAA is suspected.

Features of a suspected abdominal aortic aneurysm include:

• Unexplained back or abdominal pain in an older patient
• Renal colic in an older patient
• Syncopal episode in an older patient
• Clinical examination
• Risk factors – ischaemic heart disease (IHD)/peripheral vascular disease (PVD)/age

The more risk factors, the greater the risk.

Learning bite

The combination of a number of risk factors should lead to an increasingly high index of suspicion.