Role of Exertion or Emotion as Inciting Events for Acute Aortic Dissection

It is well known that hypertension, aortic dilatation, and collagen disorders predispose to acute aortic dissection (AAD). The inciting events that precede the instant of AAD are incompletely understood. One hundred seventy-five consecutive patients having AAD, treated at our institution during a 10-year period, were reviewed; 65 were women and 110 were men (mean age 61 years). The ascending aorta was affected in 110 patients, and the descending...