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Citation:
Weerakkody Y, Haouimi A, Shah V, Pulmonary arterial dissection. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 16 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-50370
Pulmonary arterial dissection is extremely rare but can be a fatal situation. Only a handful of cases have been described in live patients.
It is mostly described in those with chronic pulmonary arterial hypertension.
It can progress to a pulmonary artery aneurysm and fatal spontaneous rupture into the pericardium causing acute cardiac tamponade.
Location
It is usually seen involving the main pulmonary trunk, which is the affected site in 80% (usually without involvement of its branches) 5.
The condition usually manifests with cardiogenic shock sudden death 4.
CT, MRA and echocardiography will demonstrate the intimal flap. Gated CT scans can be useful in assessment.
A potential pitfall is a pseudoflap due to motion artifact from aortic and cardiac motion. The presence of a similar pseudoflap in the aorta or superior vena cava would suggest that the finding is an artifact.
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