About abdominal aortic aneurysm screening - Reasons to attend abdominal aortic aneurysm screening
Taking part in screening is your choice.
It is important that you understand the benefits and risks of screening to help you decide if taking part is right for you.
What are the benefits of AAA screening?
- There are usually no signs or symptoms for an AAA. Finding an AAA early gives you the best chance of being offered monitoring and treatment.
- The AAA test is a one-off ultrasound scan which only takes a few minutes.
- Most men who are screened for an AAA are told that an aneurysm has not been found.
What are the risks of AAA screening?
- AAA screening may find an AAA that would never have caused a man harm.
- AAA screening is not 100% accurate.
- Sometimes results can be reported wrongly but this is very rare. This means that a person may be told that they have an AAA when in fact they do not, or a person may be told that they do not have an AAA when they do.
Things you need to know about AAA running in families
Anyone known to have a close family history of AAA, and who is not invited for screening (for example, men who are not yet aged 65 or women of any age) can talk to their doctor.
Close family means brother, sister or parent/s.
Page last reviewed: 24th December 2025