Medical Management of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (Jason Lee, MD)

** This medical education program may contain graphic content. ** _________________________________ A DeBakey CV Education Event Presented by Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center. ABSTRACT This session reviews the role of medical management in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), emphasizing strategies to slow aneurysm growth and reduce rupture risk in patients not yet meeting operative criteria. It highlights the evolving understanding of aneurysm biology, including inflammatory, proteolytic, and genetic mechanisms that may serve as future therapeutic targets. Current evidence-based interventions are discussed, with strong emphasis on smoking cessation as the most impactful modifiable risk factor, along with the roles of exercise, statin therapy, blood pressure control, and selective use of beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors. The session also explores emerging pharmacologic approaches, including antibiotics targeting matrix degradation pathways and ongoing clinical trials. Importantly, it reframes vascular surgery beyond procedural intervention, underscoring disease prevention, longitudinal surveillance, and multidisciplinary care. Overall, the discussion encourages a shift toward integrating medical therapy with procedural planning to improve long-term outcomes in AAA patients. KEY LEARNING CONCEPTS • Smoking cessation is the most effective modifiable factor to slow AAA growth and reduce rupture risk • Exercise may reduce wall stress and aneurysm expansion through hemodynamic and biologic effects • Statins provide broad vascular benefits beyond lipid lowering, likely via anti-inflammatory mechanisms • Beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors have mixed evidence but may play a role in selected patients • Future therapies may target molecular pathways (inflammation, proteolysis, infection) involved in aneurysm formation" FOR MORE INFORMATION DeBakey CV Education: https://www.houstonmethodist.org/educ... For the latest education and training opportunities from DeBakey CV Education: http://bit.ly/HMdebakeyemail Follow Us: DeBakey CV Education Homepage https://www.houstonmethodist.org/acad... DeBakey CV Education Facebook   / about   DeBakey CV Education Twitter https://x.com/DeBakeyCVedu DeBakey CV Education LinkedIn   / debakey-cv-education   DeBakey CV Edu Instagram   / debakeycvedu   Want concise, relevant reviews of the hottest topics in CV medicine? Subscribe for FREE to the Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal for quarterly, peer-reviewed issues delivered to your door. https://journal.houstonmethodist.org/