Aortic Dissection

This is a tear in the wall of your aorta. Your aorta is the large blood vessel that carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body. The wall of the aorta is made of three layers. An aortic dissection is a tear in the aorta's inner wall. Blood flows through the tear and separates the aorta's inner and middle layers. Blood that normally flows to other parts of your body fills this space, forming a bulge.