As Grant Wahl's family has correctly said, there was almost nothing anyone could have done to save him. I know they're right because I've seen so many of these cases. Here's why they are so difficult.
Aortic Dissection diagnosis can be missed when symptoms are transient or vague e.g., Jonathan Larson, the playwright of RENT, was discharged from several NYC EDs and died at home. Aortic Dissection can present with a TIA. I recall a patient whose only sign after a 10-minute episode of focal weakness consistent with a TIA was a difference in BPs in his arms. A high index of suspicion is often needed to diagnose these situations.
The Sunday before Thanksgiving my daughter’s half brother, a 56 year old marathon biker, father of two daughters in college, had chest pain. He didn’t make it through surgery for an aortic dissection. What a nightmare.
Aortic Dissection diagnosis can be missed when symptoms are transient or vague e.g., Jonathan Larson, the playwright of RENT, was discharged from several NYC EDs and died at home. Aortic Dissection can present with a TIA. I recall a patient whose only sign after a 10-minute episode of focal weakness consistent with a TIA was a difference in BPs in his arms. A high index of suspicion is often needed to diagnose these situations.
The Sunday before Thanksgiving my daughter’s half brother, a 56 year old marathon biker, father of two daughters in college, had chest pain. He didn’t make it through surgery for an aortic dissection. What a nightmare.