When you feel sudden severe chest or upper back pain, it's easy to assume what's happening is a heart attack. It could be, but it could also be an aortic dissection -- a condition that can be severe ...

Sara Adair knows the symptoms of aortic dissections. The hospital analyst's father and sister each experienced the dangerous cardiac condition, when the inner lining of the body's main artery tears ...

Sometimes the aorta—the largest blood vessel in our bodies—can tear, allowing blood to flow between layers of the aortic wall. This dissection can block blood from flowing to other parts of the body, ...

Thoracic aortic dissection occurs when the intima of the aorta becomes compromised and “tears” or “dissects” a new layer that fills with blood between the intima and the media. This “false lumen” can ...

Thirty percent of acute type A aortic dissections present with neurologic symptoms, but seizures are uncommon. The combination of hypotension with neurologic deficits should trigger physicians to ...

The aorta is a major blood vessel carrying blood from the heart to the rest of the body. As the heart pumps blood, it first enters the aorta and is then delivered via connecting vessels to the rest of ...

The aorta is the main artery of the human body. Its large structure is key to maintaining the vital function of pumping oxygenated blood around the whole body. Aortic ...

Though aortic dissections—in which the inner layer of the body’s central blood vessel tears—are rare, affecting around three out of every 100,000 people per year, they carry a disproportionately high ...

Your aorta is a tube-like structure that resembles a candy cane. The thoracoabdominal aorta starts after the curve of the cane and extends past the arteries that deliver blood to the stomach, ...

Thoracic aortic dissection occurs when the intima of the aorta becomes compromised and “tears” or “dissects” a new layer that fills with blood between the intima and the media. This “false lumen” can ...

Acute aortic dissection demands urgent diagnosis and surgical treatment for patient survival. Observed on September 19th, Aortic Dissection Awareness Day emphasizes the need for awareness about this ...

A 62 year-old male is brought in by ambulance for acute onset left lower extremity weakness, numbness and pain. En route to the ED he complained of ripping chest pain, and on arrival he was ...