Painless aortic dissection presenting as a progressive myelopathy

Stephen F. Holloway, Pierre B. Fayad, Robert G. Kalb, Joseph B. Guarnaccia, Stephen G. Waxman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report a patient with a painless aortic dissection whose neurologic symptoms progressed over 5 days to a complete transverse myelopathy. She did not experience pain as her neurologic deficits evolved. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a thoracic aortic dissection extending from the arch to the level of the 12th thoracic vertebra and demonstrated ischemic changes in the spinal cord and one thoracic vertebral body. Aortic dissection must be included in the differential diagnosis of spinal cord syndromes even in the absence of pain. Early recognition of aortic dissection as a cause of progressive myelopathy may become increasingly important as new therapies for central nervous system ischemia are developed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)141-144
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of the neurological sciences
Volume120
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 15 1993
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Aortic dissection
  • Ischemic injury
  • Myelopathy
  • Spinal cord disease
  • Stroke

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology

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