Type I Aortic Dissection on Pregnant Woman

Abstract

Acute aortic dissection is rare in young women. Half of the dissections in women younger than 40 years old occur during pregnancy, typically in third trimester and in postpartum period. The reasons for increased rate of aortic dissection in pregnancy are known to be increased sex hormones, degeneration of elastic tissue in aorta, and pressure of the uterus on aorta and distal iliac arteries causing pathological alterations in the artery walls by increasing the resistance to distal flow. Aortic dissection is a condition that can be presented with different symptoms and can be fatal for both mother and the fetus if the diagnosis is missed or late. Despite the diagnosis tools like computerized tomography, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging or aortography, suspicion of aortic dissection is still the basis of diagnosis. Treatment objective is to provide the security of the mother and the fetus. In this case presentation, approach to pregnancy-induced aortic dissection was discussed by presenting a case in which a 41-year-old woman in 34th week presented with swelling in the legs, pain in the epigastric region and blurry vision complaints, developed type A aortic dissection and died during the follow-up. J Med Cases. 2016;7(3):105-108 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc2437w