o  Researchers found that the mortality rate for women undergoing surgery for this medical condition is twice that of men.

o  Experts consider that this vascular condition is still seen as mainly a male condition, which would explain such differences.

Women suffering from abdominal aortic aneurysms fare much worse than men with the same vascular condition. These are the findings of a study carried out by experts from the Imperial College of London and Cambridge University, which were recently published in the British medical journal, The Lancet. The report is based on a review of research into the condition, carried out since 2000.

As the study reveals, women fare much worse than men in all of the abdominal aortic aneurysm treatment phases. Therefore, they are less likely than men to be deemed suitable for surgery, either through the replacement of the affected aorta with a tube graft or for endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), or in other words, the insertion of a stent in the damaged section of the artery in order to free it of blood pressure and prevent it from rupturing. Among women who finally undergo surgery, the mortality rate 30 days after the operation is nearly twice that of men in the same situation.

It is true that women tend to develop aneurysms at a more advanced age than men and their aortas are smaller. However, given the current technological resources available, this is not sufficient reason to explain the differences in mortality between the two sexes.

"Abdominal aortic aneurysm is still considered to be a condition that is mainly suffered by men. Therefore, the way in which the condition is managed, from screening to diagnosis and treatment, has been developed with men in mind. This must change", according to Janet Powell, from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at the Imperial College of London and lead author of the study.

Powell calls for “urgent improvements” in the way in which women suffering from abdominal aortic aneurysms are treated. Among the steps to be taken in the short term, she highlights the need to adapt the devices used in surgery to enable more women to be offered this option. “We need more grafts designed to fit women, who have smaller aortas, as all the grafts currently available have been designed for men”, points out Powell.

The current technological resources available facilitate the detection of aorta aneurysms. These technological resources include eVidaVascular, the 3D advanced image viewing software created by EMEDICA which allows aorta aneurysms to be precisely measured and surgeons to select a suitable stent for endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR).

Try eVida Vascular for free

eVidaVascular was officially presented last March at SITE in Barcelona (International Symposium on Endovascular Therapeutics) and was well received by vascular surgeons and cardiologists. The module has been designed for the analysis and surgical planning of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA), thoracic-abdominal aortic aneurysms (TAAA) and iliac artery aneurysms (IAA).