Their findings are published in the Feb. 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association . The ailment is called acute aortic dissection - a rare, but often fatal condition, characterized by separation of the aortic walls.
Aortic dissection occurs in two forms.
Type A dissection involves the ascending aorta and type B occurs near the left sublcavian artery and down the descending aorta. Speaking on behalf of 18 leading aortic centers around the world that are working together to understand and treat aortic dissection, Eagle and colleagues reported on nearly 500 patients, treated in the past three years. Eagle says the study emphasizes the need for emergency cardiac surgery for dissection involving the ascending aorta and the promise of new catheter-based procedures for complicated patients with dissection of the descending aorta. Aortic dissection can occur anywhere in the aorta and has a wide range of symptoms that often mimic more common disorders like myocardial ischemia or stroke. In addition, physical evidence may be absent or difficult to diagnose.