Safety and Quality Essentials Library

Aortic Heart Dissection Care icon

Can’t Miss Diagnoses – Aortic Dissection

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Learning Objectives

  • Summarize the prevalence of and risk factors for aortic dissection
  • Classify the different types of aortic dissections
  • Explain the physiology of aortic dissections
  • Maintain a high degree of suspicion for aortic dissections during differential diagnosis
  • Treat aortic dissections appropriately, based on type
  • Order appropriate imaging tests to confirm and/or rule out aortic dissections

Course Description

This course examines the risk factors for aortic dissection. It also encourages learners to maintain a high degree of suspicion when diagnosing patients to ensure that instances of aortic dissection are quickly recognized and treated.

Did You Know...

  • Mortality is 40% on presentation of aortic dissection, plus 1–2% with each passing hour
  • 39% of aortic dissection cases are only recognized >24 hours after admission—very late!—and 20–40% are diagnosed at autopsy
  • Outcomes improve sharply with prompt surgery, falling to 15–20% mortality at one month and 45% at ten years
  • Aortic dissection is survivable, but it requires rapid expert diagnosis and treatment.

Course at a Glance

target audience icon Target Learners:

Physicians

time to complete icon Average Completion Time:

20–30 Minutes

contributor icon Co-development Partner(s):

Swedish Medical Center

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