Acute Aortic Dissection Associated with Cocaine Abuse

pp. 105-107

Abstract

We present a 21 year old patient that came to the hospital with chest pain, after inhaling cocaine,
with no antecedents of systemic hypertension. Twelve hours after admission, he suffered a cardiac arrest with electromechanical dissociation and death . The autopsy showed aortic dissection type A (Daily classification) in addition with hemopericardium, without conjuntive displasia compatible lesions. Medical literature analized showed that cocaine abuse, associated with aortic dissection is more frequent in men, and more than half of the cases have no systemic hypertension antecedents. Likewise, only one of all the autopsied or operated patients had connective tissue disease. The lack of systemic hypertension and lesions with cystic medial necrosis in the majority of cases, allows to suppose an uknown action of cocaine on the artery wall.