Pitfalls
- Dismissing AAD from the differential diagnosis because the pain is in the anterior chest
- Dismissing the diagnosis of AAD because the patient does not have differential pulses or blood pressures
- Excluding AAD because the patient has pain for only a short period or has no pain at all
- Not appreciating that migratory pain is highly specific for AAD
- Not performing a second ‘definitive’ investigation if the first is negative in a patient with a high clinical suspicion of AAD
- Not adequately controlling elevated blood pressure in patients with AAD
- Using vasodilators alone in the management of blood pressure in patients with AAD.