THE Men’s Health Forum is encouraging men aged 65 and over in Herefordshire and Worcestershire to take up the offer of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA or ‘Triple A’).

The screening programme started across both counties in May 2011 and up to March 31 this year, 3,705 men were screened in Worcestershire. Only large aneurysms require surgery and nine men had a successful repair of their large aneurysm as a direct result of the screening programme and one is awaiting surgery. None of the men were aware they had an AAA before being screened as symptoms are generally not noticed. In Redditch, 533 men were screened and 11 aneurysms found and in Bromsgrove 290 men were screened and 6 aneurysms found.

The Men’s Health Forum is marking Men’s Health Week this month with a campaign entitled YOLO (You Only Live Once) that aims to help men make choices to live healthier and longer lives. Those choices include taking advantage of free health checks such as AAA screening.

AAA are caused when the main blood vessel in the abdomen – the aorta – weakens and starts to expand. Men are about six times more likely to have an AAA than women and the risk also increases with age. Large aneurysms are rare but can be fatal. Around 6,000 people, most of them men aged 65 and over, die every year in England and Wales from ruptured AAA. The NHS AAA Screening Programme aims to reduce the number of AAA-related deaths by up to 50 per cent through early detection, monitoring and treatment.

For more information on AAA screening, visit http://aaa.screening.nhs.uk. For more information on Men’s Health Week, visit menshealthweek.org.uk.