Medical image of the week: acute aortic dissection

• Main Authors: Desai H, Bajaj A, Hanamaikai K, Natt B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arizona Thoracic Society 2015-06-01
• Series: Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care
• Subjects: aortic dissection; CT scan; false lumen; Stanford criteria; treatment; management; Stanford type B; blood pressure; periaortic hematoma; chest pain
• Online Access: http://www.swjpcc.com/imaging/2015/6/24/medical-image-of-the-week-acute-aortic-dissection.html

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. An 85-year-old gentleman with the past medical history significant for hypertension, smoking, and coronary artery disease presented to the emergency department (ED) with complains of sudden onset of chest pain. His pain was described as squeezing and radiating to the back, associated with nausea and vomiting. His chest pain improved with nitroglycerin in ED. Chest x-ray showed a tortuous aortic knob and widened mediastinum. He underwent a CT angiogram, which showed, Stanford Type B aortic dissection, from distal aortic arch to renal arteries (Figure 1). He was managed in the hospital conservatively with tight blood pressure control given the type of dissection and no surgical intervention was done. He was uneventfully discharged with follow up arranged with vascular surgery. Aortic dissection is classified by Stanford Criteria as Type A which involves the ascending aorta and arch and Type B when it involves the descending aorta. Type A dissection is a ...