Minutes Matter to Your Heart - Crittenton Hospital Medical Center

This condition can strike the young or elderly, affect the seemingly healthy or obviously frail, and challenge the most respected medical centers in the country. Left untreated, ascending aortic dissection is almost 100 percent fatal within days of diagnosis and has a national surgical mortality rate of 25 percent.

The aorta directly receives oxygenated blood from the heart and is the largest artery in the body. An aortic dissection is a partial-thickness tear in the wall of the aorta. When this condition occurs, patients can present with symptoms of a heart attack, stroke, heart failure, tamponade (blood around the heart), and even sudden death. The most common symptom experienced in aortic dissection is the sudden onset of severe pain associated with a tearing or ripping sensation in the chest.

“Anyone can develop an aortic dissection,” says Alvise F. Bernabei, MD, University of Michigan Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon on staff at Crittenton. “Unfortunately, people who suffer dissections generally don’t know they have uncontrolled blood pressure problems or an aneurysm in their chest, and both conditions are underlying causes of a dissection.”

When the diagnosis of an ascending aortic dissection is suspected, a team of cardiac specialists coordinates treatment. Crittenton is uniquely qualified to provide expert care for any cause of chest pain, including aortic dissection. Patients receive emergency care in the Chest Pain Center, where cardiologists and emergency medicine physicians evaluate patients who are transported by ambulance to the Emergency Department.

When a patient suffers an ascending aortic dissection, a cardiac surgical team of anesthesiologists, nurses, perfusionists, and surgeons is assembled to provide definitive care. The operation is technically demanding and requires stopping all circulation in the body for at least 20 minutes—sometimes up to two hours—to repair the aorta.

“The dedicated professionals in the Operating Room and Intensive Care Unit at Crittenton are proud to provide the seamless delivery of care that ensures the individual needs of each patient are addressed when minutes matter most,” Dr. Bernabei says.

To learn more about Cardiovascular Services at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center, visit http://www.crittenton.com and click “Clinical Services,” then “Cardiovascular Services.