High Prevalence of Thoracic Aortic Dilatation in Men with Previous Inguinal Hernia Repair.

Background:  Identifying a useful marker for thoracic aortic dilatation (TAD) could help improve informed clinical decisions, enhance diagnosis, and develop TAD screening programs. Inguinal hernia could be such a marker. This study tested the hypothesis that the thoracic aorta is larger and more often dilated in men with previous inguinal hernia repair versus nonhernia controls.