Aortic dissection causes

Aortic dissection Microchapters
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Case Studies
Case #1

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Vendhan Ramanujam M.B.B.S [2]

Overview

Atherosclerosis and hypertension are associated with spontaneous aortic dissection, while blunt trauma and sudden deceleration in a motor vehicle accident are major causes of traumatic aortic dissection.

Causes

Common Causes

The most common causes of aortic dissection include:

• Atherosclerosis
• Chest trauma
• Chronic hypertension
• Complication of cardiac procedures
• Connective tissue disorders
• Vasculitis

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Atherosclerosis, bicuspid aortic valve, hypertension, malignant hypertension, ruptured aortic arch with aberrant left subclavian artery, seat belt aorta, vasculitis
Chemical/Poisoning	No underlying causes
Dental	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	Methonium
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	Cushing's syndrome
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	Aneurysms osteoarthritis syndrome, annuloaortic ectasia, bicuspid aortic valve, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Erdheim's cystic medial necrosis, familial aortic dissection, fibromuscular dysplasia, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, Marfan syndrome, mutation of TGF-β receptor genes, mutations in genes encoding α-actin and β-myosin, mutations in SMAD3, mutations in the gene encoding filamin A, Noonan syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta, pseudoxanthoma elasticum, Turner syndrome
Hematologic	No underlying causes
Iatrogenic	Aortic valve replacement surgery, cardiac catheterization, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, implantation of stent graft, intra-aortic balloon pump, mitral valve replacement surgery, surgical correction of aortic coarctation
Infectious Disease	AIDS, annuloaortic ectasia, aortitis, syphilitic aortitis
Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic	Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta
Neurologic	No underlying causes
Nutritional/Metabolic	Homocystinuria
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Ophthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose/Toxicity	Cocaine abuse
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal/Electrolyte	Polycystic kidney disease
Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy	Aortitis, arteritis, Behçet's disease, giant cell arteritis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, Takayasu arteritis, vasculitis
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Chest trauma, deceleration injuries, motor vehicle accident, seat belt aorta
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Connective tissue disorders, heavy exercise, idiopathic

• For more information on potential risk factors for the development of aortic dissection click here.