aortic dissection

Tick, Tick...Boom! film offers opportunity to raise awareness of aortic dissection and genetic aortic disorders

On November 19, 2021 Netflix released the highly anticipated movie Tick, Tick...BOOM, a dynamic biography about the life of Jonathan Larson.

Larson, the brilliant composer of the Broadway hit RENT, died at age 35, from a misdiagnosed aortic dissection believed to be caused by his undiagnosed Marfan Syndrome.

Genetics Behind Aneurysms 

Dr. Milewicz informs about how genes can predict progression of aortic aneurysms to dissections. Genes can also predict other vascular disease the patients may be at risk for. Genetic testing and routine imaging from the head to the pelvis are important to monitor aneurysms of the aorta and other arteries in patients with aortic disease. Dr. Milewicz explains how mutations in the ACTA2 gene can cause enlargement of the aorta and also cause occlusion (closure) of other arteries, indicating the urgent need for research to understand underlying pathways that are responsible for differences in clinical manifestations of genetically triggered aortic disease. Click here for the video

Physician-Scientists are crucial to our future

Dianna Milewicz, MD, PhD, Chair of GADAs’ Professional Advisory Board and Executive Chair of the international Montalcino Aortic Consortium (MAC), explains why Physician-Scientists are crucial for the future, having a significant role in developing better treatments and saving lives. The Physician-Scientist workforce has been declining, and we need to change that trend in order to solve human deceases. Click here for the video

Dr. Milewicz is the President George H.W. Bush Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine, Director of the Division of Medical Genetics and Vice-Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Centre at Houston, Texas, USA.