Approach to aortic dissection in light of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) 2022 Guidelines

Abstract

The blood necessary for sustaining life passes into the aorta through the pump function of the left ventricle and is distributed to the systemic arterial bed via the aorta and its branches. In an average lifetime, about 200 million liters of blood, the basis of life, are delivered to the organs via the aorta and its branches Acute Aortic Syndromes, especially Aortic Dissection, can impair this vital function of the aorta. Aortic Dissection (AD) is not one of the most common diseases encountered by physicians in daily clinical practice, but it is frequently associated with life threatening complications. It has a high mortality rate of 1% to 2%/h if it is not diagnosed quickly and appropriate treatment is not started immediately. However, this diagnosis is not always easy to make. The main reason for this is the lack of a very specific symptom that would allow physicians, especially emergency physicians, cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons, who encounter AD more frequently, to easily suspect AD and its course with nonspecific symptoms. In this review, we will evaluate new developments in the diagnosis and treatment of AD in the light of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) 2022.