In this episode, Steve, Dan, Holly, and Dr. Selbak review a few of their calls involving aortic dissections. Because aortic dissection is a relatively uncommon disease process, and many severe cases never make it to the hospital, reviewing these cases provides a unique opportunity for the listener to gather abundant knowledge in one sitting that may otherwise take years to gather in the field. The team also discusses how patient presentation, vital signs, and history gathering can point a provider towards aortic dissection over other cardiac or pulmonary conditions and how a few relatively simple tests in the ER can help confirm a field provider’s suspicions.

The goal of this episode is to encourage listeners to be on high alert for a few key phrases and to be cautious about falling into the classic trap of overlooking a patient simply because their signs and symptoms may not be glaringly obvious or particularly alarming. We all know that two patients with the same etiology can present drastically differently, and this podcast not only provides a few clear examples of this but also sheds light on why that might occur.