A common asthma drug has the potential to help delay development of a rare heart complication that lacks effective drug treatment, according to researchers. Aortic aneurysm -- the dilation of the aorta -- is a serious condition that occurs when the wall of the aorta, the body's largest artery, weakens and swells.

The condition is largely symptom-free and is normally therefore not discovered until late in its development when it threatens to rupture and cause life-threatening haemorrhaging.