Atherosclerosis in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: A Causal Event or a Process Running in Parallel? The Tromsø Study

OBJECTIVE—The pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) formation is poorly understood. We investigated the relationship between carotid, femoral, and coronary atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic diameter, and whether atherosclerosis was a risk marker for AAA. METHODS AND RESULTS—Ultrasound of the right carotid artery, the common femoral artery, and the abdominal aorta was performed in 6446 men and women from a general population. The burden of atherosclerosis was assessed as carotid total plaque area, common femoral lumen diameter, and self-reported coronary heart disease. An AAA was defined as maximal infrarenal aortic diameter ≥30 mm. No dose-response relationship was found between carotid atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic diameter