The natural history of penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers (PAUs) of the descending thoracic aorta remains unclear. Between January 1996 and June 2000, PAU was diagnosed in 36 patients (16 men ...

At a median follow-up of 457 days (range 4-2,703) after diagnosis, 8 of these asymptomatic patients had died ( Table 2); 6 died of conditions unrelated to the ulcer and 2 of unknown causes.