Deciding who should have screening depends on who is at risk of having an aneursym, and who would benefit from treatment.

There is clearly little point in screening people who have virtually no chance of having an aneurysm, nor of people who are too unwell or frail to undergo treatment if one is found.

The causes of aneurysms are listed on www.aneurysm.co.uk.

Using the knowledge of who gets aneurysms, we suggest that the following might get some benefit from having aneurysm screening:

• People over 60 years old
  - Particularly males (about 15x more males than females have aneurysms)
  - Particularly smokers
  - Particularly those with high blood pressure (even if on treatment)
  - Particularly those with claudication (pain in leg on walking due to circulation)
   
• People who have "aneurysms in the family"
  - People who have a father, mother, brother or sister who have had an aneurysm are about 6x more likely to have an aneurysm themselves
  - in these people, we screen them younger - usually 5 years before the age that their relative was found to have an aneurysm
  - in people with several relatives with aneurysms, we usually screen at 55 years or 50 years, depending on family history
   
• People who have a popliteal aneurysm
  - 66% of people with one popliteal aneurysm will have one on the other side
  - 33% of people with a popliteal aneurysm will have an aortic aneurysm 

There a no "hard and fast" rules about who needs screening, as many vascular surgeons will have seen rare patients with aneurysms who are much younger than usual.

NHS or research screening programs make certain cut-off points that are calculated on a cost benefit analysis - therefore those at very low risk are not offered screening - not those with NO risk.