Postpartum aortic dissection diagnosed by point-of-care ultrasound in the emergency department: A case study.

Aortic dissection is a rare but clinically significant cause of chest pain in the emergency department (ED). While classic risk factors include advanced age, male sex, and tobacco use, pregnancy is also an independent and easily overlooked risk factor. Aortic dissection carries both high maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Point-of-care ultrasound is increasingly employed in the ED and has been shown to be useful in the evaluation of abdominal aortic pathologies. We present a case in which abdominal aortic ultrasound was utilized in the diagnosis of an acute Stanford type B aortic dissection in a recently postpartum patient.