Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm - Classification

Classification

Abdominal aortic aneurysms are commonly divided according to their size and symptomatology. An aneurysm is usually defined as an outer aortic diameter over 3 cm (normal diameter of the aorta is around 2 cm). If the outer diameter exceeds 5.5 cm, the aneurysm is considered to be large. A ruptured AAA is a clinical diagnosis involving the presence of the triad of abdominal pain, shock and a pulsatile abdominal mass. If these conditions are present, indicating AAA rupture, no further clinical investigations are needed before surgery.