An aortic dissection is a medical emergency which must be treated promptly. While it usually the prompt treatment must be within days and not necessarily hours, the faster that the condition is identified, diagnosed, and treated, the less damage that will occur and the faster that a patient can begin to heal. Thus, when an aortic dissection is not immediately treated, such as when it is misdiagnosed, it can result in worse injury and even fatal injuries. If this occurs, patients may have been victims of Oregon medical malpractice and should contact our Bend & Portland medical malpractice lawyer to learn how we ca help.
An aortic dissection is an injury to the lining of an aorta. An aortic has three layers and originates and branches out of the heart. It is responsible for carrying blood to the rest of the body. An aortic dissection occurs when the lining of one or more of the layers of the aorta becomes torn. The tear in the lining creates the dissection. When the inner layer is torn, it will allow blood to rush in between in the inner layer and the middle layer causing them to split or “dissect.” The blood pressure will continue to press on the lining and even expand the tear.
The longer that the original tear is allowed to grow, the more likely that the tear will go through the middle layer. When this occurs it becomes extremely dangerous because the only barrier between keeping a person alive and from bleeding out is the outer layer of tissue. If the aortic dissection is not quickly repaired, it can lead to very serious personal injury including wrongful death when there is a complete tear.
An aortic dissection is someone of a difficult diagnosis at first because it has traits of other common medical emergencies such as a heart attack, stroke, or even a pulmonary embolism. These are all very dangerous emergencies. But once these conditions have been evaluated for and ruled out, the diagnosis of an aortic dissection should be rather easy.
The symptoms of an aortic dissection include the following:
An aortic dissection is a medical emergency and if a healthcare provider failed to diagnose you immediately, that could be Oregon medical malpractice. If you or a loved one suffered an aortic dissection that was not immediately diagnosed, please call our Portland medical malpractice lawyer to learn what your rights to compensation may be.
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