Posted in Cardiology on December 22, 2013 by m.khodeer
Aortic Dissection:
Aortic Dissection represents a spectrum of processes in which blood enters the muscular layer of the aortic wall and splits it in a longitudinal fashion.
Most are spontaneous and occur in the setting of acquired or inherited degeneration of the aortic media.
Spontaneous dissections almost exclusively originate in the thoracic aorta and secondarily involve the abdominal aorta by extension from above.
Aortic dissection results in the separation of two lumens by an intimal flap.
Clinical Signs/Symptoms of AD:
- Chest Pain or back pain, 80-90%
- Aortic Insufficiency
- Blood Pressure discrepancies between extremities
- Neurologic deficits
- Ischemic Extremity
- Pulse Deficits
- Silent Dissections are VERY RARE
Causes: