Acute cardiovascular emergency: missed killer in the emergency room

Acute chest pain in hypertensive patients presenting to the emergency room constitute a wide spectrum of life threatening conditions including an acute aortic dissection. Acute Aortic syndromes constitute uncommon but lethal identities, with high morbidity and mortality requiring a high index of suspicion, appropriate diagnostic tools and urgent line of management. The authors are reporting a case of an elderly hypertensive lady, presenting with acute chest pain secondary to type B aortic dissection, which was missed on the initial presentation. The authors reviewed the current practice of diagnosing and managing acute aortic dissection.