A feasibility study of the CRISP intervention; a cardiovascular risk reduction intervention in patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening/surveillance is implemented widely. Those in AAA-surveillance are at high-risk of cardiovascular-events. We developed an intervention, called CRISP, using intervention-mapping, to reduce cardiovascular-risk in AAA-surveillance.

Accelerated elastin degradation by age-disease interaction: a common feature in age-related diseases.

Aging is a major driving force for many diseases but the relationship between chronological age, the aging process and age-related diseases is not fully understood. Fragmentation and loss of ultra-long-lived elastin are key features in aging and several age-related diseases leading to increased mortality. By comparing the relationship between age and elastin turnover with healthy volunteers, we show that accelerated elastin turnover by age-disease interaction is a common feature of age-related diseases.

Improving cardiovascular health in patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm: development of the cardiovascular risk reduction in patients with aneurysms (CRISP) behaviour change intervention.

Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is an important cardiovascular health problem. Ultrasound screening is proven to reduce AAA mortality and programmes have been implemented in some healthcare systems. Those who are identified as having a small AAA in screening enter into a surveillance programme to monitor AAA size.

Editor's Choice - Infra-Renal Aortic Diameter and Cardiovascular Risk: Making Better Use of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Outcomes.

Objective: Aortic diameter (AD), used traditionally for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening may have a role in assessing cardiovascular risk. Unfortunately, AD estimates for those without AAA are underutilised, whilst cardiovascular risk is sub-optimally managed in those with AAA. Our objective was to examine the association between AD measurements and future cardiovascular risk.

An Artificial Neural Network Stratifies the Risks of Reintervention and Mortality after Endovascular Aneurysm Repair; a Retrospective Observational study.

Background: Lifelong surveillance after endovascular repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is considered mandatory to detect potentially life-threatening endograft complications. A minority of patients require reintervention but cannot be predictively identified by existing methods. This study aimed to improve the prediction of endograft complications and mortality, through the application of machine-learning techniques.

Potential role for anti-angiogenic therapy in abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Objective: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a condition that mainly affects elderly men. At present, there is no effective medical therapy that can retard aneurysm growth or prevent aneurysm rupture. There is evidence that angiogenesis within the wall of an aortic aneurysm may play key roles in aneurysm progression as well as rupture.

The Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS)--number and type of positive criteria predict interventions and outcomes in acute surgical admissions.

Background: Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is a syndrome that reflects the widespread activation of inflammatory pathways. The goal of this study was to find whether the presence or absence of SIRS on emergency surgical admissions is related to the subsequent clinical outcome in terms of in-hospital interventions, length of stay, and mortality.

Methods: The presence of SIRS at admission, final diagnosis of the underlying disease, treatments, and clinical outcomes were prospectively recorded for 1 month.