ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM STENT GRAFT MARKET TO REACH $550 MILLION BY 2011

A new Medicare initiative will drive an increase in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) procedures, prompting stent graft market growth of 13 percent per year over the next five years, according to a report by Millennium Research Group (MRG). By 2011, MRG said, the stent graft market will reach $550 million.

The "Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently Act" will have a significant impact on the demand for these procedures by increasing the patient population, the group said. "Currently 1.2 million Americans have the disease, however only 15 percent are diagnosed."

In January Medicare began offering free, one-time ultrasound screenings to check for AAA in qualified seniors. This program covers men 65 to 75 with a history of smoking, and men and women 65 to 75 with a family history of AAA.