Key points from today’s guests:

Cynthia Akagi, aortic dissection patient

• “What the hell happened?” 59-year-old Cynthia asked as she woke up at in the cardiac ICU at The University of Kansas Health System.
• In September 2018, Cynthia was camping when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. The next thing she knew she was taking an ambulance, then a helicopter, to the hospital.
• Her chest pain was an aortic dissection – a tear in her artery – and she was dangerously close to dying.
• Quick action by first responders and hospital staff saved her life.
• Her family has had a history of heart issues and her brother is getting checked for this as a precaution.
• She has written a book about her journey to help inspire others who survived aortic dissections to live, laugh, and love.
• She is offering her book, Surviving Aortic Dissection, for free while they last to those affected by aortic dissection. She can be emailed at cgakagi@yahoo.com.
• Cynthia is so thankful to the staff for saving her life and she is still as active now as before.

Dr. Jeffrey Kramer, cardiothoracic surgeon, The University of Kansas Health System

• Stress can increase blood pressure, which could exacerbate the situation.
• The blood pressure sometimes is so high that it makes a little hole in the inner layer of the aorta. Because of the high pressure, it dissects between the layers of the aorta.
• If you know you have a family history, you probably should see a specialist and they can get an echocardiogram or a CAT scan. That can show an aneurysm, not necessarily dissection, but that would be enough to signify treatment is needed.
• The mortality if left untreated is probably more than 90 percent.
• There are two types of dissection based on the on the location. Cynthia had what we call a type A dissection, which is in the first part of the aorta, called the ascending aorta, which cannot be treated with anything other than surgery.
• The second type is called type B dissection, which involves that back part of the aorta that goes down the chest into the abdomen. That type of dissection can be treated with endovascular stents.
• Cynthia’s recovery makes all the tribulations and training that you go through as a physician all worth it. This is why I went into surgery and decided to make my life as a surgeon.

Friday, April 4 at 8 a.m. is the Morning Medical Update. Learn more about how the athletes of the Kansas City Current of the National Women’s Soccer League receive medical care to prepare, train, and recover for a long, competitive season.

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