What are arterial dissections?

Also known as: carotid artery dissections, vertebral artery dissections, aortic dissections, coronary artery dissections

When a tear occurs in the lining of one of the body’s arteries, this is known as an arterial dissection. The reason it’s known as a dissection is that the tear causes blood to penetrate the lining and peel it away from the arterial wall. This “dissects” the artery, weakening it, making it narrower than normal or even causing it to close off (clot) completely. Dissections occur frequently in the vessels of the neck, head or spine and are found more often in boys than girls.
 

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM