Echo in diseases of the aorta

Editor-in-Chief: Eli V. Gelfand (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School)

Aortic Dissection
Echocardiography in general, and TEE in particular are useful methods of diagnosis of aortic dissection (AoD). It allows for demonstration of true and false dissection lumen, as well as for assessment of the complications of AoD, such as:

- Pericardial effusion with/without cardiac tamponade

- Coronary artery dissection and myocardial infarction

- Aortic rupture

- Acute aortic regurgitation

Below is a TEE, clearly showing a dissection flap in the ascending aorta, with an associated jet of severe aortic regurgitation.

