A Growth and Remodeling Approach to AAA Modeling: Feasibility and Initial Insights

While the advancement and widespread use of medical imaging have greatly aided in the diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), many questions remain regarding the natural progression of AAAs and most importantly predicting their likelihood of rupture — an event carrying a mortality rate of over 80% [1]. Current guidelines recommend surgical intervention when the aneurysm achieves a diameter of 5.5 cm [2]; however, it has been documented by at least one study of 161 consecutive patients that approximately 10% of AAA ruptures occur in aneurysms measuring 5 cm or less [3]. It is also unknown how many surgically repaired aneurysms may not have proceeded to rupture in a patient’s lifetime. For this reason, there is much interest in identifying better predictors of rupture risk than diameter alone.