aortic dissection symptoms come and go
1 Aortic dissection occurs when a tear occurs in the inner muscle wall lining of the aorta, allowing blood to split apart the muscle layers of the aortic wall.  Symptoms of aortic dissection include a tearing or ripping pain in the chest, sweating, nausea, shortness of breath, weakness, or syncope (fainting). Abdominal aortic dissection can present with abdominal pain radiating to the flank or back. Symptoms of an aortic aneurysm may come and go, or they may be constant, explains WebMD. Symptoms can include chest, stomach or back pain. Many aortic aneurysms cause no symptoms at all and are only found during tests or exams done for other reasons. Continue Reading. Consider thoracic aortic dissection in the differential diagnosis of all patients presenting with chest pain. The location of the pain may indicate where the dissection arises. Anterior chest pain and chest pain that mimics acute myocardial infarction usually are associated with anterior arch or aortic root dissection. Aortic dissection facts. Aortic dissection occurs when a tear occurs in the inner muscle wall lining of the aorta, allowing blood to split apart the muscle layers of the aortic wall. Aortic aneurysms usually do not cause any symptoms, but some patients do experience indications, such as severe chest, abdominal and back pain, shortness of breath or difficulty swallowing, according to WebMD. If the aneurysm ruptures, the patient can experience loss of consciousness, stroke or a heart attack. Syncope is part of the early course of aortic dissection in approximately 5% of patients and may be the result of increased vagal tone, hypovolemia, or dysrhythmia.Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) symptoms include hemianesthesia and hemiparesis or hemiplegia.Altered mental status is also reported. The pain typically changes as the dissection evolves. The pain of aortic dissection is typically distinguished from the pain of acute myocardial infarction by its abrupt onset and maximal severity at onset, though the presentations of the two conditions overlap to some degree and are easily confused. 1 Abdominal aortic dissection can present with abdominal pain radiating to the flank or back. 2  There are two types of dissection: Type A is treated surgically, while type B is treated with medical management.  Mortality is high for both types of aortic dissection. Are the symptoms for aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection the same? An aortic aneurysm is a bulge in a section of the body’s main artery, the aorta, notes WebMD. The aorta carries blood from the heart to the other parts of the body. The aneurysm, the bulging part of the aorta, is susceptible to bursting. 1 Mortality is high for both types of aortic dissection.  Reducing the risk factors for aortic dissection, such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, and quitting smoking are key to prevention of this condition.
A tearing or ripping pain in the chest, sweating, nausea, shortness of breath, weakness, or syncope (fainting).