Vascular dissection

Vascular dissection refers to a pathological tearing of the wall of an artery, most commonly the aorta, carotid, vertebral, or coronary arteries[1][2][3][4][7]. Blood enters the arterial wall and splits its layers, creating a false lumen. This can compromise blood flow, causing ischemia, hemorrhage, or aneurysm formation, and is associated with major consequences like stroke, myocardial infarction, or organ failure depending on the arterial location. Dissections occur spontaneously or as the result of trauma, and are often precipitated by hypertension or underlying structural weakness of the arterial wall. Management includes medical therapy to reduce stress on the vessel, prevention of thrombotic complications, and surgical or endovascular intervention in severe cases[1][2][3][4][7].

Other names

Arterial dissectionAortic dissection (when specifying aorta)Carotid artery dissectionVertebral artery dissectionSpontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD)

Prevent thromboembolic complications (anticoagulants/antiplatelets); blood pressure and heart rate control to reduce aortic wall stress (beta blockers, calcium channel blockers); pain control; endovascular stent-grafting (TEVAR) or surgical repair to exclude the false lumen