A rare cause of dysphagia and weight loss in a nonagenarian with hypertension: Dysphagia aortica

Abstract

To the Editor: Dysphagia is a subjective awareness of difficulty in swallowing caused by impaired progression of food from the oropharynx to the stomach. An unusual mechanical cause of dysphagia occurs from extrinsic compression of the esophagus by the aorta. This was first described in 1932 as dysphagia aortica, which develops primarily in women and is associated with short stature, old age, hypertension, and kyphosis.1 A 98‐year‐old woman with dysphagia aortica caused by a dilated archus aorta and uncontrolled hypertension is reported.