Ongoing monitoring of aneurysm risks will be undertaken on scores of other patients as a result of information gleaned from the research.
More than 4000 Otago-Southland men and women aged over 50 participated in the University of Otago medical research into abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).
The study has just been published in the British Journal of Surgery.
Participants were invited to undergo an ultrasound scan of their aortas in Dunedin Hospital.
The research is already attracting international attention and suggests an approach that could prove effective in cutting deaths, at present about 400 a year in New Zealand, from this type of aneurysm.
Lead author Associate Prof Greg Jones, of the department of surgical sciences, said the research suggested that targeted screening for AAA based on patients’ overall cardiovascular health, showed promise for improving detection and treatment of this potentially deadly condition.
This suggested that "serious consideration" should be given to including AAA screening alongside existing cardiovascular risk assessment programmes and vascular investigations, he said.
The research findings were "both internationally significant and nationally important" and showed what could be gained by the university Medical School, Dunedin Hospital and the wider Dunedin and Otago-Southland community working together.
An AAA, often described as a "silent killer", is a bulging weakness in the aorta, which is the main artery of the body.
If the bulge grows large enough and suddenly ruptures, nine out of 10 of those affected will not survive.
When detected early, AAAs can be repaired and rupture prevented.
Most of those who die are older men.
There is no national screening programme for the condition.
Prof Jones said four groups of about 1000 people were studied, and researchers found an overall prevalence rate of 4.5%, with significantly higher numbers of AAA cases in the first three groups, who had increased cardiovascular risk.
This was compared to a fourth group of healthy volunteers, with lower cardiovascular disease risk.
"This is an example of how having a medical school in your community actually benefits the community," Prof Jones said.
The study identified more than 100 people with a previously undetected aneurysm, including eight who were found to have large aneurysms that required immediate, potentially lifesaving, surgical treatment.