What are my treatment options?

The goal of any thoracic aortic dissection treatment is to prevent the aorta from bursting or blocking the blood supply to other areas of the body. The type of treatment depends on the severity of the tear and the location of the tear in the thoracic aorta.

Treatment options:

• Surgical repair
• Medical management
• Endovascular repair

Surgical repair involves opening the chest cavity, clamping the aorta and sewing a surgical graft in place to replace the damaged section of the aorta. This is most often the option for patients with acute (recently occurring) thoracic aortic dissection in the ascending aorta.

Medical management involves the use of prescription drugs to aggressively lower blood pressure and heart rate while the aorta heals. This traditionally has been the option for patients whose thoracic aortic dissection is diagnosed early in development and is located in the descending thoracic aorta just below the subclavian artery (the artery to the left arm).