Genetic and Risk FactorsRelated Health Conditionsabdominal aortic aneurysmaneurysm diseaseatherosclerosispopliteal aneurysmaortaarterieslegs
Is Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm hereditary?
Mr Usman Jaffer explains that abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) can be caused by a number of different factors. One of these factors is having a family history of aneurysms, so there is a hereditary component. But there are other causes such as atherosclerosis (hardening and narrowing of the arteries) which can happen as part of ageing and having other risk factors such as high blood pressure or smoking.
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So, what causes abdominal aortic aneurysms? Do they run in families? The answer is yes. If you have relatives who have aneurysms, then you may well have a previous vision to getting aneurysms. Another interesting fact is that if you have an abdominal aortic aneurysm, you have a much greater chance of having aneurysms behind your knees called popliteal aneurysms and vice versa as well. So aneurysm disease certainly does have a hereditary component, and another cause of aneurysm disease is atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. If you've got narrowing of the arteries in the legs, you probably have atherosclerotic disease elsewhere in the body, and that can cause a weakness in the aorta and result in an aneurysm or a swelling of the artery. So there is causes of aneurysm disease, and hereditary is one of them.
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