Introduction of aortic aneurysm screening in Lambeth and Southwark

Location: Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Award: £508,000
Start date: 15/10/2007

Project intentions: A Charity funded project to screen all men aged 65 in Lambeth and Southwark for dangerously enlarged abdominal aortic aneurysms has pre-empted the government’s announcement to pilot a national screening programme.

The Charity awarded £506,500 to Mr Matt Waltham, an Honorary Consultant Vascular Surgeon, at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in 2007 to set up the screening programme over the next three years.

The funding has enabled the appointment of Marguerite Ford as project co-ordinator and the recruitment of the sonographers to carry out the screening clinics in GP surgeries and other primary care centres.

It is estimated that there are about 2,000 men in the two boroughs with undiagnosed aneurysms, which if left untreated could be fatal. The Charity’s grant is also covering the cost of surgery for those men found to have an aneurym which is at risk of rupture.

Arteries are responsible for carrying blood from the heart to the tissues to supply oxygen and nutrients. Veins return blood and waste products back to the heart. An aneurysm occurs when the artery wall weakens and starts ballooning outwards. The two commonest sites of aneurysm are in the abdomen and the leg.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms have been described as the silent killer. It is a common condition affecting 7.5 per cent of the male population over 65. Most patients remain asymptomatic until rupture; when this happens, the majority die.

People with an unhealthy lifestyle, for example those who smoke or have high blood pressure are most at risk.

If you are a 65 year old man living in Lambeth and Southwark and wish to take part in the screening programme, please contact your GP for further information.