The winter peak in the occurrence of acute aortic dissection is independent of climate.

We recently reported the existence of a higher risk of acute aortic dissection (AAD) during the winter months. However, it is not known whether this winter peak is affected by climate. To address this issue, we evaluated data from 969 AAD patients who were enrolled at various sites around the globe and who were participating in the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD). We found a significant (p = 0.001; chi2 test) difference in the number of AAD events occurring during the different seasons of the year, with highest incidence in winter (28.4%) and lowest incidence in summer (19.9%). Furthermore, the winter peak was evident in both cold and temperate climate settings, suggesting that the relative change in temperature, rather than absolute temperature, and/or endogenous annual rhythms are critical mechanistic factors.