Push to get men scanned for serious condition

Men aged over 65 in Warwickshire are being urged to get checked to see if they have a potentially deadly swollen blood vessel.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm, a widening of the main artery in the body, leads to serious internal bleeding if it bursts and is often fatal.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust has appealed for men in the age range to get a scan.

"If we don't know that it's there, there's a risk it can go undetected," nurse Lauren Lynch said.

"The screening allows us to identify that the aneurysm is there and then we can have you on surveillance.

"If it reaches threshold for surgery, we can quickly get you on the correct pathway for that."

There are no symptoms with the condition and someone could have a large aneurysm and know nothing about it, a trust spokesperson said.

The screening involves an ultrasound scan of about 5-10 minutes with results available immediately afterwards.

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