Comparison of aortic dissection in Chinese patients with and without Marfan syndrome

Background Aortic dissection is a life-threatening cardiovascular disease with high mortality. Little is known about comparisons of the clinical characteristics or the factors that influence the long-term prognosis of Chinese patients with aortic dissection with and without Marfan syndrome (MFS). Methods The authors studied the data of 246 patients with aortic dissection. The patients were hospitalised for aortic abnormalities from 2004 to 2008 in Fuwai Hospital. Medical charts were reviewed to obtain clinical data using a standardised data collection sheet. Results Of the 246 patients with acute aortic dissection, 56 had MFS. Compared with the non-MFS patients, those with MFS were considerably younger (mean±SD age 35.27±11.11 vs 54.11±11.96 years, p Conclusions These clinical results could be useful for rapid assessment of the treatment and prognosis of patients with aortic dissection.