Hidden Heart Dangers: Silent Aortic Emergencies Spark Call for Blood Pressure Vigilance

What began as a routine day for Katrina Sison quickly turned into a fight for her life.

The 38-year-old Pickering resident was on her way to a volleyball game when she suddenly felt an alarming shortness of breath. It wasn’t the usual fatigue from a busy day something felt seriously wrong. Trusting her instincts, Sison headed to the emergency room instead of the court.

That decision likely saved her life.

Doctors soon discovered she had a rapidly expanding ascending aortic aneurysm measuring nearly eight centimetres a critical condition that can rupture without warning. Within hours, she was preparing for emergency heart surgery.

“This was catastrophic,” said Dr. Subodh Verma, a cardiac surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. “Time wasn’t just muscle in her case time was life. Without immediate surgery, she would not have survived.”

Sison had no prior warning signs and no reason to believe her heart was in crisis.

Her case is not unique.

Last summer, 58-year-old Tom Scherbluk of Alliston, Ont., experienced a similarly shocking ordeal. Sitting at home reviewing work files, he was suddenly struck by excruciating pain and collapsed to the floor.

He was rushed to St. Michael’s Hospital, where Verma and his surgical team operated through the night. Scherbluk had suffered an aortic dissection a life-threatening tear in the inner layer of the aorta, the body’s main artery. The tear allows blood to surge between layers of the artery wall, worsening the split and potentially leading to stroke, organ failure, or death within hours.

“We couldn’t even close his chest for several days because of the severity of the bleeding,” Verma said. “These are among the most urgent emergencies we treat.”

In Scherbluk’s case, undiagnosed high blood pressure was a key contributing factor.

According to a newly released report by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, more than 8.2 million Canadian adults are living with diagnosed hypertension. Updated national guidelines published in 2025 now define high blood pressure as readings of 130/80 mm Hg or higher a stricter threshold reflecting growing evidence that cardiovascular risk begins earlier than previously thought.

The danger, experts say, lies in hypertension’s silence.

“High blood pressure rarely causes noticeable symptoms,” Verma explained. “People can walk around for years unaware they are at risk for something as devastating as an aortic dissection.”

For 55-year-old Mahee Dharen Dharmalingam, a routine doctor’s visit uncovered his hidden vulnerability. An echocardiogram ordered by his family physician revealed an aneurysm. Although initially borderline, follow-up monitoring showed it was enlarging, eventually requiring urgent surgery.

Doctors emphasize that heart disease does not always appear as it does in movies dramatic chest clutching and sudden collapse. Instead, it often progresses quietly or presents in subtle, unexpected ways.

“Heart disease has many shades and forms,” Verma said. “Sometimes it’s sudden. Sometimes it’s gradual. Sometimes there are no clear risk factors at all. Tragically, for some people, the first symptom is death.”

With Valentine’s Day placing hearts at the center of celebration, physicians are urging Canadians to focus on more than romance.

Know your numbers. Monitor your blood pressure. Speak to your doctor about family history and risk factors.

“The heart is not just a symbol of love,” Verma said. “It is life itself. And we remain in awe of how remarkable and how fragile this organ can be.”

Health experts stress that early detection and routine screening remain the most powerful tools in preventing silent but deadly cardiac emergencies.