Lightspeed ultra ct scanner

The CT examinations were performed on a LightSpeed Ultra CT scanner (General Electric Medical Systems). Each CT scan consisted of multiple axial slices of $512\times 512$ pixels. An assortment of thick (5 mm), thin (2.5 mm), and quasi-isotropic (0.625 mm) scans was available, with a voxel spacing of 0.68 mm. No contrast enhancing agent was used.

Fasting elbow vein blood samples of 4 mL were collected from the control group on the day of the physical examination. As well, 4 mL of fasting elbow vein blood was gathered from all patients with AAA early in the morning on the day of EVAR surgery and early in the morning 3 months post-operation. The collected blood samples were then centrifuged at 2000 r/min for 20 min, and the upper serum was carefully collected and stored in a sterile eppendorf tube at -80 °C for freezing. Demographic information including age, sex, BMI, drinking history, smoking history, complications (hyperlipidemia, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, and coronary heart disease), Framingham risk score, and relevant pathological indicators were recorded for each participant. Image scanning was implemented using a Lightspeed Ultra CT scanner (General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY, USA). The data were processed using GE workstation adw 4.4 to acquire the maximum diameter of AAA. The levels of serum T cell subsets (CD3⁺, CD4⁺, and CD8+) were measured using an automatic flow cytometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Shanghai, China), while blood lipid levels, including total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG), were assessed using an automatic biochemical analyzer (Hitachi 917, Roche Diagnostics GmBH, Mannheim, Germany).