Patient Stories

Many individual patient stories, together, make up the story of our Aortic Dissection patient charity. You can read some of them here. New stories are added all the time.

We have moved our aortic dissection patient stories to the news section, so you can see the latest patient stories there in the new Patient Stories category.

Elizabeth's aortic dissection patient story

Elizabeth Ganly, 77 recalls her first heart-related symptom and the experience that followed.

Rachel's Type B aortic dissection patient story

Rachel Linford from Preston, Lancashire was 30 when she suffered an acute Type B aortic dissection.

Michael's aortic dissection patient story

Michael Black 42, suffered a type A dissection and underwent a hemiarch replacement in March 2024. His story began on a normal evening spent at the...

Jeni's aortic dissection patient story

Jeni Bennett aged 44 from Swindon suffered her aortic dissection in 2005 after falling ill at work. When reaching hospital, she explained about her...

Mark's aortic dissection patient story

Mark Smith an active 59-year-old had started to enjoy his retirement when he suffered an aortic dissection during a trail run. Mark tells us his...

Stevie's Type A aortic dissection patient story

Kirsty Paterson talks about what happened to her Dad Stevie after he suffered a sudden Type A Aortic Dissection at age 57.

Sharon's aortic dissection patient story

Sharon Goddard suffered an acute Aortic Dissection as her plane landed in the UK after a family holiday

Sarah's aortic dissection patient story

Patient Pioneer: Sarah, pictured here with her surgeon, Mr. Jorge Mascaro, is the first patient in the UK to have an Aortic repair using the new...

Melanie's aortic dissection patient story

An inspirational heartfelt story of an Aortic Dissection patient’s triumph, determination, and true love in New York!

Prashant's Type A aortic dissection patient story

Prashant was 38, a young fit and healthy man, when he suffered a Type A Aortic Dissection while working out at the gym.

Andrew's Type A aortic dissection patient story

Andrew Stevenson was Director of Research & Enterprise at the University of Lincoln when he suffered an acute Type A Aortic Dissection at the age...

Stefan's aortic dissection patient story

Stefan had at first refused to seek medical help, but ended up undergoing a 12-hour life-saving operation to repair an Aortic Dissection and was...

Howard's aortic dissection patient story

Howard Dyson 64, tells us about a rare incidence of aortic dissection which happened accidentally during routine surgery.

Anne's Type A aortic dissection patient story

Anne Cotton is a retired Primary School Teacher from Warwick who had her entire Aorta replaced in three stages, after suffering an acute Type A...

What is an Aortic Dissection?

Aortic Dissection is a life-threatening medical emergency involving a tear in the aorta - the main artery from the heart, which carries blood to...

Aortic Dissection Patient Support

Our most important charitable activity is supporting patients and families affected by Aortic Dissection. You are not alone. Whatever you're...

Membership for Patients, Carers & Relatives

Membership of the national patient charity is free for patients, relatives and carers and for healthcare professionals in the UK & Ireland with...