An aortic aneurysm occurs when a weak aortic wall stretches, causing it to bulge. An aortic dissection occurs when there’s a tear in the aortic wall, which can be fatal if not treated immediately. The ...

What Is an Aortic Dissection? An aortic dissection is an emergency with your aorta, which is the largest blood vessel in your body and the main artery that takes blood from your heart to the rest of ...

The aorta is a main artery that carries blood away from your heart to the rest of the body. The blood it carries is rich in oxygen, and your body relies on it for survival. The aorta is about an inch ...

Ask any trainee in emergency medicine for a list of rapidly fatal conditions, and it is almost certain that acute aortic dissection (AAD) will be near the top. In acute care medicine, AAD is a ...

An aortic dissection is a tear in one of the layers of the aorta. The aorta is your body’s largest blood vessel. Your aorta is made up of three layers. When a hole or tear forms in one of these layers ...

A normal aortic valve is composed of three aortic-valve cusps, each semilunar in appearance. The leaflets are housed within a small dilatation of the proximal aorta associated with each cusp, called ...

This Journal feature begins with a case vignette highlighting a common clinical problem. Evidence supporting various strategies is then presented, followed by a review of formal guidelines, when they ...

Aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition caused by a tear in the intimal layer of the aorta or bleeding within the aortic wall, resulting in the separation (dissection) of the layers of the ...

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 ...

An aortic dissection happens when tears appear in the inner lining of the aorta, which is the main artery leaving the heart. Blood surges into the tears, causing the aorta lining to split, or dissect.