Objectives: The objective of this study was to define the range of clinical presentations, echocardiographic findings, and underlying final diagnoses in patients with clinically suspected acute aortic dissection.
Methods and results: This study was designed as a retrospective review of clinical and echocardiographic data in consecutive patients evaluated for clinically suspected acute aortic dissection. The study population consisted of 75 studies in 74 consecutive patients referred for urgent or emergency evaluation because of signs and symptoms suggesting acute aortic dissection. A history and physical examination designed to elicit the cause of chest pain, evidence of congestive heart failure, and other cardiovascular abnormalities was performed in each patient. All patients underwent transesophageal echocardiography by experienced operators. Routine 12-lead electrocardiograms and chest radiographs were available for review in the majority of patients. Magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography was performed in only 5 (6%) and 34 (44%) patients, respectively. Contrast aortography was performed in 21 (27%) patients. For the entire patient cohort, the most prevalent symptom was chest pain alone (n = 31; 41%) or chest pain in conjunction with back pain (n = 23; 31%). Classic "tearing" pain was an infrequent symptom. Syncope or other neurologic findings were present in 15 (20%) patients. Acute aortic dissection was responsible for 34 (45%) of the 75 presentations, with 31 (41% of total evaluations, 92% of dissections) involving the ascending aorta (Stanford type A, DeBakey type 1 or 2). Alternate major cardiovascular diagnoses, including acute myocardial infarction, primary valvular disease, or pericardial disease, were established in 12 (16%) cases. Aortic pathology, other than dissection, was found in 15 (20%) cases. Transesophageal echocardiography established the diagnosis responsible for the symptoms in 61 (81%) cases.
Conclusions: Symptoms in patients with acute aortic dissection are more variable than commonly recognized. Transesophageal echocardiography is an accurate primary diagnostic tool in patients with clinically suspected acute aortic dissection. It allows rapid diagnosis of dissection and can identify alternate cardiovascular pathology responsible for the symptoms in a significant number of patients without acute dissection.