Acute Aortic Disease.. - Index of

Preface
Over 100 years ago, the great physician Sir William Osler observed “there is no
condition more conducive to clinical humility than aneurysm of the aorta.” The
lithograph in Figure 1 illustrates the “electroshock therapy” applied in that era for
the treatment of large aortic aneurysms. Although we have made great progress
since that era, Osler’s observation regarding the challenge posed by aortic diseases
remains true to this day. The powerful potential for aortic aneurysm and related
Figure 1 In Osler’s time, electroshock therapy was employed to stop aneurysm progression
and prevent rupture. Will our current therapies be looked at in another 100 years as
similarly archaic?
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