MONDAY, 15 OCTOBER, 2018

For immediate release: Photo opportunity with members of the Screening programme at the information stand at Whitehills Health and Community Care Wednesday morning, 24 October.

Raising awareness about Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening

An information stand aiming to raise awareness about abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening is being held at Whitehills Health and Community Care Centre in Forfar from 23 to 29 October.

On Wednesday 24 October, members from the screening team will be at the Health Shop information stand in Whitehills to answer any questions about the screening and AAA in general.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a swelling of the aorta, the main artery in the body. As some people get older, the wall of the aorta in the abdomen can become weak and swollen, forming an aneurysm. The condition is most common in men aged 65 and over and usually there are no symptoms.

Since 2013, all men in Scotland are invited for screening at age 65. The Scottish AAA screening programme aims to reduce deaths associated with the risk of aneurysm rupture in men aged 65 and over by identifying aneurysms early so that they can be monitored or treated.

Most men have a normal result and will not be invited again for screening. Men with detected small or medium aneurysms are invited for regular surveillance screening to check the size of the aneurysm. Men with large aneurysms are referred to vascular specialist services.

Audrey Irvine, AAA Screening Programme Manager for NHS Tayside and Fife, said, “Men are sent an invitation to attend AAA screening at the age of 65. We urge everyone to take advantage of this offer as it can save your life. The screening test is a simple ultrasound scan of the abdomen, which takes around 10 minutes.

“Men over 65 years of age, who have not been screened previously, can self-refer into the screening programme by contacting NHS Tayside/Fife AAA Screening Office on 01382 424033.

“We invite members of the public to drop in at the Health Information Point by the main reception at Whitehills and have a look at our information stand and pick up some information leaflets. On Wednesday, our screeners will be available to answer any questions about AAA Screening and provide information around self-referral into the screening programme.”

For further information please contact the NHS Tayside/Fife AAA Screening Office on 01382 424033 or call the NHS inform helpline on 0800 22 44 88 (textphone 18001 0800 22 44 88).

Contact:

Carin Pettersson

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 740716