Lifestyle changes and medical therapy in slowing the growth of small abdominal aortic aneurysms

The goal of our review was to evaluate the impact of lifestyle changes and medical therapy in slowing the growth of small abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), as well as to introduce current ideas for future treatment. No viable evidence was found that medical therapy can slow the growth of small AAAs. The beneficial role of propranolol, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and doxycycline in reducing the growth rate of AAA was ruled out by randomized controlled studies, whereas the efficiency of statins, macrolides and anti-platelet therapy remains controversial. On the other hand, smoking cessation is the only established lifestyle change that was effective in impeding the AAA expansion. Also, there are a considerable number of novel therapeutic strategies related to the problem, which still need to be evaluated in clinical trials, including administration of Cyclosporine A, gene therapy and mesenchymal stem cell treatment