The post-mortem incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

TLDR: A review of abdominal aneurysms occurring in this material might answer some questions about the disease and indicate profitable lines for future investigation.

Abstract: The incidence of death due to rupture of an abdominal aneurysm, as determined by postmortem examination rather than by death certification, is not known accurately; still less is known of the incidence of unruptured aneurysm or of the natural history of the disease. The Chelmsford Hospital Group serves a fairly compact population of about 200,000; a large sample of all deaths in the area is investigated by post-mortem examination which is carried out in 85% of hospital deaths, in most sudden unexpected deaths and, in recent years, in many deaths of patients attended by general practitioners: Table 1 shows the number of deaths and post-mortem examinations during the last two years. It was thought that a review of abdominal aneurysms occurring in this material might answer some questions about the disease and indicate profitable lines for future investigation.