Men screened for fatal condition

Men aged 65 and over in Leicestershire and Rutland are to be screened for a potentially life-threatening condition, health bosses have said.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), a condition in which the largest blood vessel in the body becomes enlarged, is fatal in 90% of cases if it ruptures.

Leicester Royal Infirmary is one of five hospitals involved in a pilot project to screen all men over 65.

The scheme hopes to save 100 lives in Leicestershire and Rutland every year.

The extended screening programme will be up and running from March 2009.

Ultrasound scan

Consultant vascular surgeon Akhram Nasim said the current scheme screened about 40% of 65-year-old men.

"By increasing the take-up, we will increase the amount of preventative surgery we can do and reduce the number of patients who have to undergo an emergency repair," said Mr Nasim.

"In the past this condition has only been picked up incidentally or when it has ruptured."

Doctors use an ultrasound scan, like those used on pregnant women, to check for AAA.

Frank Greaves, 67, from Braunstone in Leicestershire, was screened in October 2007 and his GP found a 7.5cm (2.9in) aneurysm in his abdomen.

"After the surgery, the anaesthetist told me I was lucky - if I hadn't been picked up, I would have been dead in two years," said Mr Greaves.

The condition affects about 7.5% of men aged 65 and over and the full screening programme will be rolled out nationally within five years.

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All men aged over 65 in Leicestershire and Rutland are to be screened for abdominal aortic aneurysms.