It's Aortic Dissection Awareness Week
Good morning, Aortic Hope community.
It's Jared here and this week’s topic that is not a stranger to anyone connected to Aortic Hope: aortic dissection.
For some, these words bring back the memory of an emergency room, a sudden pain, a surgery, a phone call, a loss, or a second chance at life. For others, aortic dissection may be something they are learning about because they or someone they love has an aneurysm, a genetic condition, a bicuspid aortic valve, or a family history of aortic disease.
No matter how you came to this community, one thing is true: aortic dissection is not just a medical diagnosis. It is a life-changing event.
What Is an Aortic Dissection?
The aorta is the largest artery in the body. It carries blood from the heart to the brain, organs, arms, legs, and the rest of the body.
An aortic dissection happens when a tear develops in the inner layer of the aortic wall. Blood then enters the wall of the aorta and separates its layers. This can block blood flow to important organs, weaken the aorta, and become life-threatening very quickly.
Aortic dissections are often described by where they occur:
🔹 Type A dissection involves the ascending aorta, the part closest to the heart. This is usually a surgical emergency.
🔹 Type B dissection involves the descending aorta, the portion that travels down through the chest and abdomen. Some Type B dissections can be treated with medications and monitoring, while others may require procedures such as TEVAR or surgery.
The details matter, but the big picture is simple: aortic dissection is an emergency that requires fast recognition and expert care.
The Symptoms Can Be Sudden
Many people describe aortic dissection pain as sudden, severe, sharp, tearing, or ripping. It may be felt in the chest, back, abdomen, neck, or jaw. Some people may also experience shortness of breath, fainting, stroke-like symptoms, leg pain, weakness, sweating, nausea, or a feeling that something is terribly wrong.
But not every dissection looks the same: Type A vs. Type B Dissection
Aortic dissections are commonly classified by location.
🫀 Type A dissection involves the ascending aorta, the portion closest to the heart.
This is generally treated as a surgical emergency because it can affect the heart, aortic valve, coronary arteries, brain blood flow, and the sac around the heart. Type A dissections usually require urgent open surgical repair.
⬇️ Type B dissection involves the descending aorta and does not involve the ascending aorta.
Some uncomplicated Type B dissections may be managed with careful blood pressure control, pain control, and close monitoring. Complicated Type B dissections may require intervention, often with TEVAR, which stands for thoracic endovascular aortic repair.
A Type B dissection may be considered complicated if there is not enough blood reaching organs, ongoing pain, uncontrolled blood pressure, rapid expansion, rupture risk, or other concerning features.
Who Is at Risk?
Aortic dissection can happen suddenly, but there are risk factors that can increase the chances.
These may include:
🫀 Aortic aneurysm
🩺 High blood pressure
🧬 Family history of aneurysm or dissection
🫀 Bicuspid aortic valve
🧬 Genetic connective tissue conditions such as Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, or vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
👨👩👧 Inherited thoracic aortic disease
🚬 Smoking
👵 Age-related changes in the aorta
🏥 Prior aortic surgery or known aortic enlargement
One of the most important messages we can share is that aortic disease can run in families.
If someone has had an aortic dissection, their relatives may need imaging, genetic counseling, or genetic testing depending on the situation. One diagnosis can become a warning sign that protects an entire family.
The Emotional Side of Dissection
For survivors, healing is not only physical.
There may be scars, medications, imaging appointments, blood pressure checks, activity restrictions, and follow-up visits. But there may also be fear, anxiety, grief, gratitude, trauma, and uncertainty.
Many survivors live with questions:
“Could this happen again?”
“Can I exercise?”
“Will my children be okay?”
“Why did this happen to me?”
“How do I trust my body again?”
These questions are real. They deserve compassion.
Aortic dissection can change how someone sees their body, their future, and their family. It can also change what matters most.
That is why community is so powerful.
At Aortic Hope, people do not have to explain why a scan date is stressful. They do not have to explain why blood pressure numbers matter. They do not have to explain why a sudden pain can bring back fear. This community understands.
Life After Aortic Dissection
Life after dissection often means building a new normal.
That may include:
Taking blood pressure medication exactly as prescribed
Keeping regular imaging appointments
Knowing your aortic measurements
Following activity guidance from your care team
Asking whether relatives should be screened
Learning emergency warning signs
Carrying medical information when appropriate
Staying connected with specialists who understand aortic disease
For some, the journey includes surgery. For others, it includes medical management and surveillance. For many, it includes both.
The path is not the same for every patient, but the goal is shared: protecting the aorta and helping each person live as fully and safely as possible.
The Takeaway
Aortic dissection is serious, frightening, and often life-changing.
But awareness gives us power.
It helps patients recognize symptoms.
It helps families understand risk.
It helps providers act quickly.
It helps survivors feel less alone.
It helps turn tragedy into education, advocacy, and hope.
To those who survived a dissection: Your story matters.
To those who lost someone: their story matters, too.
To those living with aortic disease and wondering what comes next: you are not alone.
Aortic dissection may be one of the most difficult topics we talk about, but it is also one of the most important. Every conversation, every shared story, every family screening, and every moment of awareness can make a difference.
💙 Because awareness saves lives - and hope helps us keep going.
Signing off, your friend from Wayne State Medical School, Jared Lin
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