This winter alone, surgeons have operated on about 40 patients with aortic dissections in Auckland and Waikato. But a Waikato heart surgeon, an aortic dissection survivor and a University of Auckland researcher plan to turn that around. Within the next six months, a New Zealand wide aortic registry will be set up to understand the prevalence of aortic dissection. When he was 40 Burton had another aortic dissection - only this time he woke up from surgery paralysed. Manaaki Manawa, the Centre for Heart Research, director Professor Julian Paton, hopes to develop a blood test that would allow doctors to pick up the aortic dissections faster.

Source: New Zealand Herald September 17, 2021 16:52 UTC