The aorta is the main artery of the human body. Its large structure is key to maintaining the vital function of pumping oxygenated blood around the whole body. Aortic ...

When you feel sudden severe chest or upper back pain, it's easy to assume what's happening is a heart attack. It could be, but it could also be an aortic dissection -- a condition that can be severe ...

An aortic aneurysm occurs when a weak aortic wall stretches, causing it to bulge. An aortic dissection occurs when there’s a tear in the aortic wall, which can be fatal if not treated immediately. The ...

Though aortic dissections—in which the inner layer of the body’s central blood vessel tears—are rare, affecting around three out of every 100,000 people per year, they carry a disproportionately high ...