TempoLife › Recursos › Health screening by age: which test and when › aortic-aneurysm
Abdominal aortic aneurysm scan
The only non-cancer screening programme in the region. Sweden offers men a single abdominal ultrasound in the year they turn 65, looking for a silent widening of the main artery.
This page describes screening programmes; it is not a diagnosis, not a personal risk assessment and not a substitute for your own health service. Age bands are set nationally and change — the invitation you receive, and the body named on your country page, outrank anything written here. Screening is for people without symptoms: a new lump, blood you can see, a mole that has changed, unexplained weight loss or a sudden change in vision or hearing needs a clinician now, whatever a recent screening result said.
Where it is organised, and at what age
Every country in this region that runs this as an organised programme, with its own age band. Bands differ because national bodies weigh the same evidence differently, not because one of them has it wrong.
| Country | Who | Age band and interval | Test | How it reaches you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | Men | at 65, once | One abdominal ultrasound | Invitation |
A condition with no symptoms until the end
The abdominal aorta is the main artery running down through the belly. In some people its wall weakens and it balloons outward. An aneurysm causes no pain, no warning and no symptom while it grows, and the first sign is often the rupture, which is frequently fatal before or shortly after reaching hospital. This combination — silent, detectable, and treatable when found — is exactly the profile that makes a screening programme worth running.
Why men, and why exactly 65
Aneurysms are several times more common in men than in women, and the prevalence in men rises with age while a single scan at the right moment catches most of what a programme can catch. Sixty-five is the point where enough aneurysms exist to be worth looking for and there is still time to act on what is found. A normal aorta at 65 is very unlikely to become a dangerous aneurysm later, which is why the programme is a single scan rather than a repeating round. Smoking is the strongest modifiable risk factor by a wide margin, and a first-degree family history raises risk too.
What the scan involves
Gel on the abdomen, a probe, a few minutes. No radiation, no needle, no preparation beyond arriving without a heavy meal in some services. The result is a diameter in centimetres, and it lands in one of three places: normal, in which case you are discharged; mildly widened, in which case you are put on a surveillance list and rescanned at an interval matched to the size; or large enough that repair is discussed with a vascular surgeon. Repair before rupture is a planned operation with a far better outlook than emergency surgery after one.
What the evidence shows and where else it exists
The randomised trials of ultrasound screening in older men, summarised in the Cochrane review, show a clear reduction in deaths from ruptured aneurysm in the screened group, sustained over long follow-up. Sweden is the country in this region with a national recommendation; the United Kingdom runs a comparable programme, and several other countries offer it regionally or not at all. If you live somewhere without a programme and you are a man over 65 who smoked, it is a reasonable thing to raise with your doctor rather than assume the absence of an invitation means the absence of a case.
Sources: Socialstyrelsen — abdominal aortic aneurysm screening recommendation · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews — Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm · checked 2026-09-07
Perguntas frequentes
Why is the aortic scan only offered to men?
Abdominal aortic aneurysms are several times more common in men, and the trials that show a mortality benefit were done in older men. The yield in women is low enough that no programme in the region invites them.
Why only one scan?
Because a normal-diameter aorta at 65 is very unlikely to grow into a dangerous aneurysm afterwards. A single well-timed scan captures most of the benefit, which is what makes the programme cheap and simple.
What happens if the scan finds a widened aorta?
It depends on the diameter. A mild widening goes onto a surveillance list with repeat scans at an interval matched to the size. A large one is discussed with a vascular surgeon, and planned repair has a far better outlook than emergency surgery after a rupture.
I live where there is no programme — should I ask for a scan?
If you are a man over 65, especially if you smoked or have a first-degree relative with an aneurysm, it is a reasonable thing to raise with your doctor. The absence of an invitation is not a judgement about you.
The rest of the surface
Breast cancer screening (mammography)
An X-ray of each breast, read by two radiologists, repeated every two years across a band of ages that starts at 40 in Sweden and 50 almost everywhere else. What it finds, what it misses and what a call-back means.
Cervical screening (HPV test)
Almost every country in the region has switched from looking for abnormal cells to looking for the virus that causes them. The test is better, so the gap between tests is longer — and in several countries you can now take the sample yourself.
Bowel cancer screening (stool test)
A sample from one bowel movement, taken at home and posted. It is the only screening programme in the region that routinely prevents cancers rather than only finding them early — because the follow-up removes the polyp.
Prostate screening (PSA)
Latvia and Lithuania fund PSA testing for men in their fifties and sixties. Sweden assessed the same evidence and recommends against an organised programme. Here is what the trials actually found.
Lung cancer screening (low-dose CT)
The trials are positive and the European recommendation asks countries to build programmes stepwise. In this region it is still pilots rather than invitations — but the eligibility rule is worth knowing.
What screening can and cannot do
Overdiagnosis, false positives, interval cases and lead-time bias — the four ideas behind every disagreement between countries.
All 27 screening pagesIf the result is not normal
The record that makes the appointment shorter
TempoLife keeps weight, blood pressure, sleep and symptoms in one place, so the questions you get asked at a screening appointment already have answers.