What are the symptoms of an aortic dissection?
Almost all patients with an acute aortic dissection experience pain. The pain is typically severe and located in the chest, neck or back. Sometimes it is located in the abdomen or legs depending on the location of the aortic dissection. In fact, the pain may migrate as the dissection propagates. The pain is often a sudden onset and is at its most severe at the start. It is often described as “sharp,” “stabbing” or “tearing.” The symptoms are usually different from those associated with a heart attack, but there can be overlap. It is essential that anyone with a thoracic aortic aneurysm knows the symptoms associated with aortic dissection and can undergo an assessment in a nearby emergency department, including a CT scan to determine whether or not an aortic dissection has occurred.
