Familial aortic dissection is the term used to describe rupture of the aortic wall at the level of the media, resulting in the formation of a false channel and deviation of part of the aortic flux. Familial predisposition to thoracic aortic aneurysms and type A dissections (concerning the ascending aorta and/or the aortic arch) has been demonstrated in around 19% of patients presenting with thoracic aortic dissections and several loci have been identified so far (16p12.2-p13.13, 3p24-25). This predisposition is transmitted in an autosomal dominant manner.