A national screening programme gives criteria based on risk information about who should receive screening invitations.

The most important and widely used criterion is age. Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are uncommon in people under the age of 60 {12}. In the UK 65-year-old men are invited (because of their elevated risk of AAA rupture). Older men can come for screening by self-referral. Information about the men and their age can be obtained from any national database (population register, GP lists, health insurance database) {2}.

In the UK individuals are excluded from the programme if:

• they have previously been diagnosed with an AAA
• they have previously undergone surgery for AAA repair
• on advice from their GP related to other health concerns
• they have requested that they are permanently removed from the AAA screening programme
• they have already had a scan through the AAA screening programme and the aorta was within normal limits
• they have made an informed choice that they do not wish to be invited for screening {2}

In the UK men and women of any age with a strong family history can be scanned under existing procedures following referral by their GP to a medical imaging department {2}.

In Lithuania 65-year-old men with high blood pressure identified during a doctor’s visit are offered the possibility of screening although this is generally defined as opportunistic not systematic population-based screening. In Sweden 65-year- old men are invited and screening of siblings is not included but vascular surgeons inform patients with AAA that siblings over 50 years old should undergo ultrasound evaluation for possible AAA {11}.