Aortic pain associated with deteriorated aortic elastic properties: an early manifestation of aortopathy.

With the exception of acute aortic dissection, the aorta is not widely considered as a symptom-producing organ. However, chest pain may be of aortic origin in the absence of dissection; deteriorated aortic elastic properties may facilitate the occurrence of symptoms. We describe chest pain of aortic origin in a 60-year-old patient with a stiff, dilated but non-dissected aorta. Attention to aortic elastic properties may help exploration of the etiologic and mechanistic environment in which aortic pain occurs, thus identifying a special subgroup of patients who require special monitoring and therapeutic approaches.