What Is Aortic Dissection? A Surgeon Explains the Cause of Lindsey Graham’s Death

Here’s what a surgeon who treats people with aortic dissection wants you to know, plus the warning signs to never ignore.

What Is an Aortic Dissection?

A tear in the aorta’s walls is known as an aortic dissection. “An aortic dissection starts closer to the heart, but that tear can travel throughout the entire length of the aorta,” says Abdul Elnaggar, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon and the lead aortic surgeon at Penn State Health in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

“Any bit of dissection will likely cause symptoms,” Dr. Chen says. “But it is possible that in the very beginning stages, patients may brush it off.”

If an aortic dissection is detected and treated early, recovery is possible.

Who Is Most at Risk?

• Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries
• High blood pressure
• Smoking
• Aneurysm, or a ballooning in the wall of the artery

Symptoms of Aortic Dissection Can Mimic Those of Other Conditions

• Sudden, severe, sharp pain in the chest or upper back
• Severe pain in the stomach
• Shortness of breath
• Fainting
• Low blood pressure
• Rapid weak pulse
• Heavy sweating
• Confusion
• Vision loss
• Stroke-like symptoms

“People describe the chest or back pain as a ‘tearing’ or ‘ripping’ feeling,” Chen says.

If the dissection is small, some people may experience discomfort that gets worse over minutes or hours as the dissection progresses, Chen says. But at a certain point, Dr. Elnaggar says, the pain is usually “severe and not subtle.”

Quick Treatment Is Crucial

Some patients will die immediately from aortic dissection, but others may have a short amount of time to get treatment, Elnaggar says. If someone has symptoms of aortic dissection, they should seek emergency care quickly, he says.

The treatment for aortic dissection is emergency open-heart surgery to remove the torn portion of the aorta, says Elnaggar. Without surgery, dissection is likely to be fatal.

The majority of people who receive surgery “will do fine and live a normal life afterward,” he adds.

Chen stresses the importance of seeking care immediately for chest pain. “If you have any chest discomfort, you should call 911,” he says. “While a heart attack is more common with chest pain, emergency room physicians will be thinking about aortic dissection as well.”