Assessing the potential risk of rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) involve complex interplays between inflammatory and biomechanical factors that can be elucidated with anatomical and functional imaging. Although AAA size has been well-established in the literature to correlate with risk of rupture (and subsequent need for vascular intervention), there are other less-well-known characteristics about AAAs that also contribute to higher risk of rupture. This review focuses on biomechanical, radiological, and epidemiological characteristics of AAAs that are associated with higher rupture risk. For clinicians, knowing and considering a wide variety of risk factors in addition to AAA size is important to initiate early and proper intervention for AAA repair. Although there is no official quantitative risk score of AAA rupture risk that takes other non-size-related variables into account, if clinicians are aware of these other parameters, it is hoped that intervention can be appropriately performed for higher-risk AAAs that have not met the size-threshold for elective repair. (C) 2014 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.