Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Oct 7;13(10):1814.
doi: 10.3390/genes13101814.

Risk Factors for Thoracic Aortic Dissection

Zhen Zhou  1 , Alana C Cecchi  1 , Siddharth K Prakash  1 , Dianna M Milewicz  1
Affiliations
Review

Risk Factors for Thoracic Aortic Dissection

Zhen Zhou et al. Genes (Basel). .

Abstract

Thoracic aortic aneurysms involving the root and/or the ascending aorta enlarge over time until an acute tear in the intimal layer leads to a highly fatal condition, an acute aortic dissection (AAD). These Stanford type A AADs, in which the tear occurs above the sinotubular junction, leading to the formation of a false lumen in the aortic wall that may extend to the arch and thoracoabdominal aorta. Type B AADs originate in the descending thoracic aorta just distal to the left subclavian artery. Genetic variants and various environmental conditions that disrupt the aortic wall integrity have been identified that increase the risk for thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections (TAD). In this review, we discuss the predominant TAD-associated risk factors, focusing primarily on the non-genetic factors, and discuss the underlying mechanisms leading to TAD.

Keywords: acute aortic dissection; risk factor; thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Hiratzka L.F., Bakris G.L., Beckman J.A., Bersin R.M., Carr V.F., Casey D.E., Jr., Eagle K.A., Hermann L.K., Isselbacher E.M., Kazerooni E.A., et al. 2010 ACCF/AHA/AATS/ACR/ASA/SCA/SCAI/SIR/STS/SVM Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Patients with Thoracic Aortic Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, American College of Radiology, American Stroke Association, Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Society of Interventional Radiology, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and Society for Vascular Medicine. Circulation. 2010;121:e266–e369. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0b013e3181d4739e. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Howard D.P., Banerjee A., Fairhead J.F., Perkins J., Silver L.E., Rothwell P.M., Oxford Vascular Study Population-based study of incidence and outcome of acute aortic dissection and premorbid risk factor control: 10-year results from the Oxford Vascular Study. Circulation. 2013;127:2031–2037. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.000483. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tanaka Y., Sakata K., Sakurai Y., Yoshimuta T., Morishita Y., Nara S., Takahashi I., Hirokami M., Yamagishi M. Prevalence of Type A Acute Aortic Dissection in Patients With Out-Of-Hospital Cardiopulmonary Arrest. Am. J. Cardiol. 2016;117:1826–1830. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2016.03.015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. LeMaire S.A., Russell L. Epidemiology of thoracic aortic dissection. Nat. Rev. Cardiol. 2011;8:103–113. doi: 10.1038/nrcardio.2010.187. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Davies R.R., Goldstein L.J., Coady M.A., Tittle S.L., Rizzo J.A., Kopf G.S., Elefteriades J.A. Yearly rupture or dissection rates for thoracic aortic aneurysms: Simple prediction based on size. Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2002;73 doi: 10.1016/S0003-4975(01)03236-2. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources