Transesophageal echocardiography identification of aortic dissection during cardiac arrest and cessation of ECMO initiation

Cardiac arrest is a challenging clinical presentation that emergency medicine providers often encounter. Aortic dissection is an uncommon etiology in all-comers presenting in cardiac arrest. The use of bedside point of care echocardiography to aid in resuscitative efforts is expanding, particularly with the increasing use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) by emergency medicine providers. Additionally, emergency department initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a relatively newer development in emergency department practice. We report the case of a 64-year old male presenting to the emergency department in cardiac arrest with TEE identification of aortic dissection as the etiology resulting in discontinuation of ECMO initiation attempts.