A Maltese doctor based in the UK has highlighted the importance of regular screening by older people for aneurysms of the aorta, which though usually symptomless can be fatal.

Surgeon Ferdinand Serracino Inglott said the only way to diagnose an aortic aneurysm, which is a weakening in the walls of the main artery after this swells up, is through regular ultrasounds.

The UK will soon be launching a screening exercise among men over 65, who are the ones most at risk. Risk factors are similar to those for heart disease, including high blood pressure.

The aorta - the main artery that carries blood from the heart through the body - is normally between 1.5 and 2.5 centimetres in diameter.

An aneurysm occurs when the walls of the aorta weaken and this expands to more than three centimetres in diameter, but is dangerous when it becomes larger than 5.5 centimetres.

Speaking to The Times while on holiday in Malta, Mr Serracino Inglott said the biggest danger is that there are usually no symptoms at all, and if there are, they are easily attributed to something else.

Aortic aneurysms can be deadly if the aorta bursts, with patients having a 50 per cent chance of making it to hospital, and even then, the survival rate is of around 50 per cent.

"This makes it all the more important to have regular screening," he stressed.

The doctor, who works as a consultant at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, said most aneurysms are found by accident when patients go in for other tests.

He underscored the importance of doctors measuring the aorta when conducting tests for other diseases.

"A very large aneurysm is easy to spot, but those whose aorta has just started to expand, and might need regular screening, could be missed."

It is difficult to determine the incidence of aortic aneurysms because many cases go undiagnosed. In the UK it has been estimated to occur in about five to 10 per cent of males aged over 65.

Aortic aneurysms can be treated with keyhole (endovascular) surgery, with a stent inserted in the affected part of the aorta through which blood can flow without continuing to pile pressure on the aneurysm.

Research in the US and Europe has found that the results of this technique were better than open surgery when it comes to mortality, while requiring a shorter stay in hospital.

A year ago, Mr Serracino Inglott successfully performed the first such operation in Malta.