| "WEDNESDAY, July 25 (HealthDay News) -- People who suffer a tear to a major heart vessel, the aorta, have a better chance of surviving after their surgery if they do not also have clotting in the channel, new research shows." "The clots can occur when the layers of the aorta separate, according to a study in the July 26 " "Almost one out of three aortic dissection patients with blood clots in the channel, known as a false lumen, died after hospital discharge, according to a data review conducted by the University of Michigan Health System." "Every year, 10,000 people suffer a tear in the lining of the aorta, the body's largest blood vessel. In fact, it was this type of sudden cardiac event that killed actor John Ritter in 2003. Many patients with an aortic tear die before they can be treated, and those who survive with medical help face a one-in-four chance of dying within a few years. Very little is known about which of these patients have a good chance at surviving in the long term." "Their model focuses on blood clots that form in the false lumen, which forms when layers of the aorta separate. The channel is parallel to the true lumen, through which blood flows out of the heart and into the abdomen." "After an aortic tear, blood can enter the false lumen and get trapped there, forming a clot. Doctors can see these clots using medical imaging technology." "According to the study, the risk of post-hospital death is more than two-and-a-half times greater for patients who experience partial clotting of the false lumen than people without these clots." ""It appears that
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