Medical Definition of Acute aortic dissection
1.
A condition in which a weakened portion of the thoracic aorta begins to tear along the longitudinal axis of the vessel.
Symptoms include sudden, severe chest pain that may radiate to the back accompanied by nausea, sweating and difficulty breathing. A common risk factor for this event is atherosclerotic vascular disease and-or hypertension. Advanced cases of syphilis (syphilitic aortitis) can also result in acute thoracic dissection as a complication of infection with Treponema pallidum.
(27 Sep 1997)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Acute Aortic Dissection
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