Clinical analysis of 44 patients with aortic dissection

Abstract

Objective To investigate the risk factors, clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of aortic dissection. Methods Forty-four patients with aortic dissection were analyzed from 2005 to 2008 in our hospital retrospectively. Results Hypertension was a common cause of aortic dissection. Aortic dissection showed diverse clinical manifestations. Chest pain was a common initial symptom, whereas some patients' initial symptoms were atypical(e. g. complications). CT and MRI examination could diagnose aortic dissection at a high accurate rate compared with echocardiography. However,ultrasound examination was cheap and convenient,thus could be used as routine examination when someone has suspected diagnosis. As to the treatment of aortic dissection, there were medical conservative, surgical and endovascular stent treatment Conclusions Hypertension is a major risk factor of aorticdissection. Aortic dissection showed diverse clinical manifestations, thus misdiagnosis may occur frequently. Medical treatment should combine a variety of antihypertensive drugs. Surgery or interventional therapy according to the clinical type and condition can reduce the fatality and improve the prognosis of patients. Key words: Aortic dissection; Hypertension