Progressive Care Nursing Certification (PCCN) Practice Exam

Pain from an aortic dissection is often described as:

1. sharp and worse when laying down

2. radiating to the left shoulder

3. sudden, severe, and tearing

4. dull and intermittent

The correct answer is: sudden, severe, and tearing

In the context of aortic dissection, pain is typically characterized as sudden, severe, and tearing in nature. This description aligns with the pathophysiology of an aortic dissection, where the inner layer of the aorta tears, creating a false lumen that can lead to a rapid onset of excruciating pain. The severity of the pain is often so intense that patients may describe it as the worst pain they have ever experienced. Tearing pain is also indicative of the unpredictable progression of the dissection, as it reflects the injury to the vascular structures associated with this condition. Patients commonly report that this pain may radiate to different areas of the body, but the primary characteristic remains its sudden onset and severe quality. Understanding this specific description of pain can be critical in a clinical setting for prompt recognition and management of aortic dissection. The other options describe types of pain that do not fully capture the acute, severe nature of the pain associated with this condition.