The aorta is the largest artery in the body. It carries oxygen-rich blood throughout your body.
Aortic dissection is a tear that develops along the inner layer of the aorta. When this occurs, blood rushes through the tear, causing the inner and middle layers of the aorta to separate or dissect. If the blood breaks through the outer layer of the aorta the condition can be fatal.
Risk factors for aortic dissection include:
- Chronic high blood pressure
- Family history of aortic dissection
- Hardening of the arteries
- Aneurysm
- Traumatic chest injury
- Certain genetic diseases:
- Turner’s syndrome
- Marfan syndrome
- Other connective tissue disorders
- Inflammatory or infectious conditions
Symptoms of aortic dissection are sudden and often severe, including:
- Severe chest pain
- Severe back pain
- Shortness of breath
- Loss of consciousness
- Pain in the arms or legs
- Rapid, weak pulse
- Severe abdominal pain
- Sudden difficulty speaking, loss of vision, weakness, or paralysis of one side of your body (similar to symptoms of a stroke)