What Is an Aortic Dissection? An aortic dissection is an emergency with your aorta, which is the largest blood vessel in your body and the main artery that takes blood from your heart to the rest of ...

The aorta is a main artery that carries blood away from your heart to the rest of the body. The blood it carries is rich in oxygen, and your body relies on it for survival. The aorta is about an inch ...

Thoracic aortic dissection occurs when the intima of the aorta becomes compromised and “tears” or “dissects” a new layer that fills with blood between the intima and the media. This “false lumen” can ...

Figure 1: Aortic dissection is caused by bleeding within the aortic wall. The first 2 weeks after the onset of an aortic dissection is considered the acute stage, in which patients are highly ...

An aortic dissection happens when tears appear in the inner lining of the aorta, which is the main artery leaving the heart. Blood surges into the tears, causing the aorta lining to split, or dissect.