Acute aortic syndromes comprise a heterogeneous group of life-threatening disorders, characterized by acute-onset chest or back pain with or without cardiovascular collapse. The major entities include acute aortic dissection, penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer, and intramural hematoma. Spontaneous rupture of the aorta is an additional, rare cause of this syndrome, which frequently leads to sudden cardiac death. This is a report of two cases of this uncommon entity with detailed pathological analysis.

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