Acronyms that contain the term aortic dissection 

Aortic dissection

Aortic dissection occurs when a tear in the inner wall of the aorta causes blood to flow between the layers of the wall of the aorta, forcing the layers apart. In most cases this is associated with severe characteristic chest or abdominal pain described as "tearing" in character, and often with other symptoms that result from decreased blood supply to other organs. Aortic dissection is a medical emergency and can quickly lead to death, even with optimal treatment, as a result of decreased blood supply to other organs, cardiac failure, and sometimes rupture of the aorta. Aortic dissection is more common in those with a history of high blood pressure, a known thoracic aortic aneurysm, and in a number of conditions that affect blood vessel wall integrity such as Marfan syndrome and the vascular subtype of Ehlers–Danlos syndrome. The diagnosis is made with medical imaging. The treatment of aortic dissection depends on the part of the aorta involved. Surgery is usually required for dissections that involve the aortic arch, while dissections of the part further away from the heart may be treated with blood pressure lowering only. Since the 1990s endovascular aneurysm repair has been used in specific cases.

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