relatives of patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms should be screened

Routine screening is warranted for the first-degree relatives of patients who present with thoracic aortic disease before age 60 years in the absence of predisposing conditions such as hypertension, Marfan syndrome, or bicuspid aortic valve, Dr. Elizabeth N. Robertson said at the American Heart Association scientific sessions. "We've shown that screening of first-degree relatives for familial thoracic aortic aneurysm disease is essential, as we detected an average of two additional affected individuals per initial patient