Aortic intramural hemorrhage visualized by transesophageal echocardiography: Findings and prognostic implication

Abstract Objectives. This study describes the transesophageal echocardiographic and follow-up findings in patients with aortic intramural hemorrhage. Background. Localized aortic intramural hemorrhage resulting in layered thickening of the aortic wall seems to represent a variant of acute aortic dissection without communication or a typical moving intimal flap. In autopsy studies this variant, attributed to a rupture of the van vasorum, has been described in 5% to 10% of patients with dissection. Methods. In a prospective transesophageal echocardiographic study in patients with aortic dissection performed between 1986 and 1991, the diagnosis of intramural hemorrhage was established in 15 of…