GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Dr. Eanas Yassa, MD, Section Chief Vascular Surgery, Spectrum Health helps explain aortic dissection and a new treatment for patients who experience aortic dissection.
Aortic dissection is a tear in the largest artery in the body. The condition, much less common than a heart attack, can also be life-threatening.
About 2,000 new cases are reported each year in the U.S. This typically impacts people between 55-70 years old and could be related to genetics and/or chronic high blood pressure.
To the patient, it feels a lot like a heart attack – chest and “tearing” back pain with severe sweating, lightheaded, sense of impending doom
Patients should head to Emergency Department where they can do a CAT scan to see if it is an aortic dissection.
If it is an aortic dissection, Spectrum Health has a new option for patients. Spectrum Health is the first health system in the Midwest to offer this treatment to patients.
Unless a person presents with aortic dissection very near to the heart, many times the option is to watch and wait before action – surgical or medical – is taken.
This new treatment and device – the Zenith® Dissection Endovascular Stent – gives providers the ability to support the aorta and allow for it to heal and repair.
This offers a less-invasive procedure to patients with the potential for healing and repair.
This treatment is only available in the Midwest at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital.
To learn more you can visit https://aortic.cookmedical.com/thoracic/.
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