Chronic aortic dissection in a young adult

Acute aortic dissection is a life-threatening disease that is often a diagnostic challenge in the Emergency Department (ED). Patients with acute aortic dissection often have underlying hypertension and atherosclerotic disease, and commonly present with acute-onset severe chest or back pain in their sixth or seventh decades of life. Aortic dissection, however, can also be seen in patients < 40 years old and may present chronically, with symptom duration longer than 2 weeks.

We present an unusual case of chronic aortic dissection in a young patient, followed by a review of the literature on chronic aortic dissections and aortic dissections in young patients.

We report a case of chronic aortic dissection in a 32-year-old man with a history of untreated hypertension who presented to the ED with palpitations and mild shortness of breath.

Acute and chronic thoracic aortic dissections can occur in patients of all ages, as well as in patients with atypical signs and symptoms.