Heart Health
Ask the doctors: What could a sharp pain in the upper back mean?
The pain of an aortic dissection is extraordinary, and probably not the type of pain that led you to write this letter. But I include this description here, not to alarm readers, but so that they know that if they ever experience an intense, ripping pain in the front or back of their chest, they should seek emergency medical care immediately—ideally in the emergency department of a hospital with an excellent cardiac surgery program. Aortic dissection can often be addressed with surgery, but if left untreated, can be fatal.
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