Teaching Points
- Stanford classification of aortic dissection:
- Type A dissection includes the ascending aorta.
- Type B dissection does not involve the ascending aorta (ie. distal to left subclavian artery).
- A CXR is useful in excluding other causes of chest pain. A normal Chest Xray does not exclude the diagnosis of Aortic Dissection.
- Contrast enhanced spiral CT scan is the initial investigation of choice for the evaluation of suspected spontaneous aortic dissection.
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