PROSPECTIVE-STUDY BY ULTRASONOGRAPHY OF ABDOMINAL AORTIC DIAMETER IN ATHEROSCLEROSIS OF THE LOWER-LIMBS - THE ROLE OF ATHEROMATOUS DISEASE - REPORT OF 1,413 CASES

The diameter of the infrarenal abdominal aorta was measured by ultraso nography B-mode scan in 1,413 surgically intact patients with atherosc lerosis of-the lower limbs. There was a similar increase in abdominal aortic diameter with age in both sexes. Pathologic diameter in men pat ients was recorded mainly after sixty years of age: in women patients it was observed after the age of seventy. The major risk factors for a ortic aneurysm in atherosclerosis obliterans of the lower limbs are sm oking, hyperlipidemia with elevated levels of cholesterol, and all thr ee factors combined in association with hypertension. Abdominal aortic diameter was only significantly affected by iliac stenosis.