Context

Thoracic aortic aneurysm is a potentially lethal disease that develops indolently and asymptomatically over many years. There is presumably an ever increasing chance of rupture and death as time passes, but this risk has not been defined by any truly robust studies.1 A pragmatic threshold for repair of 55 mm has been proposed by consensus guidelines, with the caveat that patients with adverse morphology or poor physiological reserve may be repaired at a larger size to ensure maximum benefit.2 ,3 The present study sought to more reliably define rupture risk based on individual patient …