Who Is Affected by Aneurysm? Abdominal aortic aneurysm is most likely to occur in people older than 60 years, and it affects men more often than women.How Serious Is an Aneurysm?  The main risk of an abdominal aortic aneurysm is that, like a balloon that is blown up too far, it may rupture, and rupture results in life-threatening internal hemorrhage (bleeding). The larger the aneurysm gets, the more likely it is to rupture. Timely surgery prevents rupture.Surgery usually is warranted only  when the aorta (which normally has a diameter of less than 1 inch) enlarges to about 2 inches, because the likelihood of rupture increases at that point. A 2-inch-wide aneurysm has a 1 in 25 chance of rupturing within 1 year. An aneurysm that is 2 3/4 inches across a 1 in 5 chance of rupturing in the next year. Aneurysms usually grow about to 1/8 inch to 1/4per year, but this rate can be highly variable.Surgical correction often involves replacing a part of the diseased artery with a graft or tube made from synthetic materials.Berry Aneurysm. Important, but less common, types of aneurysm are not related to atherosclerosis. Berry aneurysms are bulges in the walls of arteries within the brain. As the name implies they appear like little berries attached to a blood vessel, usually at a point of branching. They usually do not cause symptoms unless they rupture, in which case they may cause stroke or coma or be fatal.*197\252\8*