Familial aortic dissection; cases involving a father, mother, and son

The occurrence of familial aortic dissection is rare in cases that are not linked to Marfan syndrome. We report the 3 cases of acute aortic dissection, involving both parents and their son. Case 1 (father case): 79-year-old male visited a nearby doctor complaining of severe chest and back pain. He was diagnosed as acute aortic dissection (Stanford type A). An emergency operation was carried out and he had an artificial vascular replacement of ascending aorta and arch portion. Case 2 (mother case): 73-year-old female was treated for hypertension. Suddenly, she had a terrible epigastralgia and back pain. The contrast enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) revealed an acute aortic dissection (Stanford type A). The ascending aortic aneurysm ruptured in the ambulance while she was transferred to our hospital. She arrived at our hospital after cardiac and respiratory arrest. We attempted to perform cardiac massage, but we could not bring her back to life. Case 3 (son case): 48-year-old male was transferred to our hospital diagnosed with acute aortic dissection (Stanford type A). The ascending aorta replacement was performed on the same day. We were able to save cases 1 and 3 by performing surgery. Aortic dissection is thought to be the disease of medial degeneration. Hereditary links to aortic dissection are not well understood, with the exception of Marfan syndrome cases. The investigation of genetic mechanisms related to aortic dissection will be expected in the future.