What is aortic dissection is a question that many people ask when faced with heart disease, and what this entails is a tear that develops in the inner layer of the aorta. This, is the large blood vessel that branches off of the heart, and when there aortic dissection the blood surges through the tear. When this occurs the blood leaks into the middle layer of the aorta and causes the middle layers to separate.

The blood that is filling these middle layers and separating them can rupture the outside aortic wall, causing a dissection. This can be called a dissecting aneurysm, which is usually fatal, unless diagnosed.

The reason that an aortic dissection may not be diagnosed is that it mimics other types of heart disease and will normally affect men between the ages of 40 and 70 years old and does not normally affect women.