HSSIB impact: life-saving difference for acute aortic dissection patients (19 September 2025)

Summary

Aortic dissection is a life-threatening medical emergency involving a tear in the body’s main artery – the aorta – which carries blood from the heart to the brain, limbs and vital organs. There are around 4,000 cases of aortic dissection in the UK each year. The condition causes more UK deaths than road traffic accidents.

To mark Global Aortic Dissection Awareness Day, Gareth Owens from Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland blogs about the impact two HSSIB reports have had, with hundreds more people now receiving life-saving emergency aortic surgery every year.

• HSIB: Investigation into delayed recognition of acute aortic dissection
• HSIB report: Transfer of the critically ill adult