THINK AORTA campaign welcomes two new global organizations on Aortic Dissection Awareness Day
Posted on 19th September 2024
THINK AORTA – the global, patient-led campaign to save lives in acute Aortic Dissection – today welcomed announcements by The Marfan Foundation (US) and the Aortic Association (EU) that they are aligning themselves to the campaign in order to raise awareness of Aortic Dissection, improve diagnosis and save lives around the world.
Aortic Dissection is a medical emergency involving a tear in the Aorta, the body’s largest artery, which carries blood from the heart to the brain, limbs and vital organs. It can happen to anyone, regardless of their age, apparent health or medical history. Aortic Dissection can be confused with other more common conditions, such as musculoskeletal chest pain, gastritis, heart attack or stroke. Without immediate diagnosis and treatment, Aortic Dissection is often fatal. The THINK AORTA campaign was established to combat this by educating healthcare professionals how to recognise aortic dissection when diagnosing patients in an emergency setting, and by promoting greater awareness of Aortic disease among the public.
Launched in 2018, THINK AORTA began as a partnership between national patient charity Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in GB & Ireland and Heart Research UK. The 2023/24 UK national cardiac surgery audit credits the campaign with increasing the number of patients having emergency Aortic surgery by 82% over the last 10 years, saving over 300 lives a year. Globally, the life-saving THINK AORTA poster is now available in the native language of over 50% of the world’s population. Around the world, over half a million people a year experience an acute Aortic Dissection – that’s almost one a minute. As global emergency medical care faces huge challenges, the THINK AORTA campaign still has much work to do to ensure that a diagnosis of acute aortic dissection is not missed.
People living with Marfan syndrome and related genetic conditions have a 250 times greater risk of Aortic Dissection...
...an often fatal tearing of the Aorta with symptoms frequently misread or even dismissed, particularly in younger “healthy” people. A CT scan is essential for a definitive diagnosis.
Bert Medina, Chair of the Marfan Foundation’s Board of Directors and an aortic-event survivor, said: “Since 2018, the THINK AORTA campaign has worked to raise life-saving awareness around the world. THINK AORTA is a natural match with The Marfan Foundation’s long-standing mission to save lives and our extensive work to educate everyone about aortic dissection warning signs and our community’s exponentially increased risk. Together, we can mutually extend our impact and help ensure that people in our communities experiencing dissection are not sent home from emergency departments with fatal results,”
“We are delighted to have The Marfan Foundation’s support for the global THINK AORTA campaign,” said THINK AORTA Global Campaign Leader Gareth Owens, who has Marfan syndrome and also chairs the national patient charity Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland. “This will increase the impact of the campaign and save more lives. The Board of The Marfan Foundation includes several aortic patients like me who understand how the Foundation’s partnerships around the world with clinicians, researchers and other patient advocacy organizations can help us save more lives together – that’s our only goal.”
Across the EU, around 27,000 people have an acute Aortic Dissection every year.
Accessing the specialist treatment required is difficult for many patients. There is no good data on how many lose their lives as a result. By contrast, in the UK, the national patient charity and THINK AORTA have made the case for investment in improving Aortic services, using data from the healthcare system to show that Aortic Dissection kills more UK citizens each year than road traffic accidents.
Eva Butler, Executive Director of the Aortic Association, said “The Aortic Association is honoured to join forces with THINK AORTA to achieve our common goal, which is to bring Aortic Disease to the forefront in the EU member states. Together, we aim to kick-off the EU campaign, raise awareness on a local, European and Global level; work on funding for the campaign; develop a patient guide covering lifetime management of Aortic disease; align in a common message to the European Union and shape further patient awareness days.”
Prof. Dr. Martin Czerny, Vice-Chairman of the Aortic Association and a leading European Aortic surgeon, added: “New clinical guidelines published this year defined the Aorta as the 24th organ of the human body. This will eventually lead to Aortic medicine becoming its own specialty. I am more than happy that the patient initiative in Aortic disease has become so strong. Our common aim is to raise the perception and importance of the newly-defined organ Aorta to the next level.”
Welcoming the Aortic Association's announcement, THINK AORTA Global Campaign Leader Gareth Owens said: “We have been seeking a partner to lead the implementation of THINK AORTA across all EU member states for some time. The Aortic Association, with its goal of improving care for all diseases of the Aortic organ across the whole of the EU, backed by strong scientific support from leading Aortic surgeons and centres, is a perfect fit for our patient-led campaign."
"Together, we will improve Aortic services across the EU and save many lives."
About THINK AORTA
THINK AORTA is the global, patient-led campaign focused on improving the recognition and diagnosis of aortic dissection. It was created and is led by national patient charity Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland in partnership with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in GB & Ireland and Heart Research UK. THINK AORTA provides free, accredited learning resources for emergency medicine, radiology and cardiology teams and for first responders, improving their ability to spot a time-critical, life-threatening aortic dissection and take appropriate action. THINK AORTA is saving lives around the world and is endorsed by the leading medical professional bodies in all of the countries where it is active, including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Society for Vascular Surgery and the American College of Emergency Physicians in the US. The THINK AORTA US campaign is led by patient organization Aortic Hope. THINK AORTA® is a registered trademark.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | YouTube
About the Marfan Foundation
The Marfan Foundation is a nonprofit organization that empowers people living with genetic aortic and vascular conditions to foster optimal quality of life and longevity. We save lives through research and education that enables healthcare providers to offer best-quality treatment. We serve communities impacted by Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and related conditions.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | X (Twitter) | Threads | YouTube | TikTok
About the Aortic Association
Founded in 2018, the Aortic Association is an independent interdisciplinary scientific platform focusing on Aortic medicine. The Aortic Association engages strategically with other stakeholders who share our goals and objectives which is advancing the standard of therapy for Aortic diseases of today and providing a think tank for treatment strategies of tomorrow. We have over 90 years of accumulated expertise in the field of Aortic disease.