A Case of Chronic Aortic Dissection With Hemopericardium and Tamponade

Cureus. 2022 Apr 7;14(4):e23924. doi: 10.7759/cureus.23924. eCollection 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Type A aortic dissection involves the separation of the wall of the ascending aorta into a true lumen and a false lumen. The finding of an aortic dissection in a patient experiencing mild to moderate symptoms for several weeks may be surprising for clinicians, given the severity of the underlying process. Here, we present an 88-year-old patient who was admitted to our hospital due to orthopnea and leg swelling for the past two to three weeks and was found to have a chronic dissection of the ascending aorta, complicated by hemopericardium and tamponade. The existing literature very rarely reports chronic type A aortic dissection with tamponade on presentation.

Keywords: aortic dissection; cardiac tamponade; echocardiography; hemopericardium; orthopnea.

Publication types

  • Case Reports