Sudden death due to aortic dissection in pregnancy: case report

Pregnancy is a well-known risk factor for aortic dissection and half of the cases reported in women under 40 years of age have been estimated to occur during pregnancy, usually during the third trimester. The authors present a case of unexpected maternal death due to acute aortic dissection in a woman at the 41st week of gestation with silent clinical history. In the case reported the patient had no previous medical history when she delivered her first full-term baby, neither connective congenital abnormalities nor other morbid states that could potentially cause cardiovascular accidents. The dissecting aneurysm was due to pregnancy. In this case, early diagnosis would have allowed early intervention which would have prevented the death of the patient, although she did not present a striking clinical situation. Under these circumstances, it is clearly of the utmost importance not to underestimate seemingly trivial symptoms that may conceal unexpected fatal clinical situations.