September Awareness 2016 - Learning About the Aorta

Richard Houchin (right) running along the route of the LA Marathon
following survival of aortic dissection

"Aorta? What's my Aorta?"

 As he lay on a stretcher, helpless and vulnerable, Richard Houchin remembers thinking this as he heard voices around him in the ER talking about him. Something was terribly wrong with his aorta, whatever that was!  Click here for details of what happened to Richard that day.

This was the way Richard learned not only about his aorta, but that he had been born with a bicuspid aortic valve. It is not the way anyone should learn this.One of the goals of this awareness month is to raise public awareness of the aorta, and how aortic disease can be detected before it threatens someone's life.

Following are a series of pages on the Bicuspid Aortic Foundation to help learn about this great blood vessel, truly a river of life in the body.

1. What is the Aorta?

2. What is a Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm?

3. What is Aortic Dissection?

4. What is Aortic Rupture? 


Along with these pages, here is a video from the Nucleus Medical YouTube Channel which describes the thoracic aorta and aortic dissection.

Learning together, we can be prepared to discuss not just our heart, not just our heart valves, but also our aorta with our physicians.

As we learn,

and are prepared to speak

with our doctors, 

we are

Creating a Climate of Hope.