Clinical Scenario
A 70 yo man come to the ED for restrosternal chest pain and shortness of breath during minimal activity in the last days. He is an ex smoker, with a history of hypertension. On physical examination the patient is not in distress, with a regular blood pressure and regular oximetry. ECG shows no evidence of ischemia.
You first think about coronary artery disease, but you also want to exclude an aortic dissection.
In Radiology the patient remaine seated and receive an anteroposterior (AP) chest Xray: maximal mediastinal width (MW) is 8,80 cm
(the optimal cutoff level is 8,65 cm), no other signs.
Shall you worry?
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