Type B Aortic Dissection After the Use of Tadalafil

A 63-year-old male patient with a type B aortic dissection after the use of tadalafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, is presented. The possible role of a novel predisposing factor—sexual activity combined with tadalafil—is reviewed. This report and three other cases add a new dimension to the known predisposing factors such as chronic systemic hypertension, hereditary connective tissue diseases– and congenital aortic valve diseases. However, the precise role of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors in the pathophysiology of aortic dissection remains unknown.