
The International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissections (IRAD) is a consortium of research centers that are evaluating the current management and outcomes of acute aortic dissection. It was established in 1996, and currently has 24 large referral centers in 12 countries participating in the registry. The main purpose of IRAD is to assess the etiological factors, modes of presentation, clinical features, treatment, and hospital outcomes of patients with acute aortic dissection around the world.
Everything from dates and times of symptom onset, presentation, diagnosis, hemodynamic signs of aortic dissection, initial and chronic medical therapy, diagnostic imaging chosen, and surgical and medical management is being studied.
Creation of working groups to identify new breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment have just been developed including groups targeting: the genetic basis of aortic dissection; use of acute and chronic biomarkers; best surgical approach; best medical approach; how patients should be followed; and what is the proper role for percutaneous stent graft therapy.
The University of Michigan Health System is the Coordinating Center. IRAD currently has data on 1600 acute aortic dissection cases. IRAD is supported by grants from the University of Michigan Health System and the Varbedian Fund for Aortic Research.
For more information about IRAD, please visit http://www.med.umich.edu/cvc/research/mcorrp/mcorirad.htm.

The following is a list of sites around the world involved with the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissections. This list does not represent the only hospitals that can care for aortic dissections, and there are many excellent hospitals that will care for an aortic dissection. Please see our Treatment page for a list of Centers of Excellence.
- University of Michigan Hospital, USA
- Washington University Hospital, USA
- Mayo Clinic, USA
- Minneapolis Heart Institute, USA
- University of Pennsylvania Hospital, USA
- Brigham & Women's Hospital, USA
- Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
- University of Massachusetts Hospital, USA
- Duke University, USA
- St. Michael's Hospital, Canada
- University of Tokyo Hospital, Japan
- Tromsø University Hospital, Norway
- Hôpital Bichat, France
- Robert-Bosch Krankenhaus, Germany
- University of Rostock Hospital, Germany
- Medical School Graz, Austria
- University of Vienna Hospital, Austria
- Hospital General Universitari Vall d’Hebron, Spain
- Hospital General Universitario “12 de Octubre”, Spain
- Cardiocentro Ticino, Switzerland
- University Hospital S. Orsola, Italy
- Istituto Policlinico San Donato, Italy
- San Giovanni, Italy
- Hadassah University Hospital, Israel
| Kristian Bartnes, Tromsø University Hospital | Tromsø, Norway |
| Joshua Beckman, Brigham & Women's Hospital | Boston, MA, USA |
| Eduardo Bossone, National Research Council | Lecce, Italy |
| Alan Braverman, Washington University Hospital | St. Louis, MO, USA |
| Stefanos Demertzis, Cardiocentro Ticino | Lugano, Switzerland |
| Giuseppe DiBenedetto, San Giovanni e Ruggi | Salerno, Italy |
| Kim Eagle, University of Michigan Hospital | Ann Arbor, MI, USA |
| Marek Ehrlich, University of Vienna Hospital | Vienna, Austria |
| Arturo Evangelista, Hospital General Universitari Vall d'Hebron | Barcelona, Spain |
| Rossella Fattori, University Hospital S. Orsola | Bologna, Italy |
| James Froehlich, University of Michigan Hospital | Ann Arbor, MI, USA |
| Dan Gilon, Hadassah University Hospital | Jerusalem, Israel |
| Kevin Harris, Minneapolis Heart Institute | Minneapolis, MN, USA |
| Alan Hirsch, Minneapolis Heart Institute | Minneapolis, MN, USA |
| G. Chad Hughes, Duke University Medical Center | Durham, NC, USA |
| Stuart Hutchison, St. Michael's Hospital | Ontario, Canada |
| Eric Isselbacher, Massachusetts General Hospital | Boston, MA, USA |
| Jim Januzzi, Massachusetts General Hospital | Boston, MA, USA |
| Alfredo Llovet, Hospital Universitario "12 de Octubre" | Madrid, Spain |
| Gabriel Meinhardt, Robert-Bosch Krankenhaus | Stuttgart, Germany |
| Truls Myrmel, Tromsø University Hospital | Tromsø, Norway |
| Christoph Nienaber, University of Rostock Hospital | Rostock, Germany |
| Patrick O' Gara, Brigham & Women's Hospital | Boston, MA, USA |
| Peter Oberwalder, Medical School Graz | Graz, Austria |
| Jae Oh, Mayo Clinic | Rochester, MN, USA |
| Antonio Panza, San Giovanni e Ruggi | Salerno, Italy |
| Linda Pape, University of Massachusetts Hospital | Worcester, MA, USA |
| Reed Pyeritz, University of Pennsylvania Hospital | Philadelphia, PA, USA |
| Udo Sechtem, Robert-Bosch Krankenhaus | Stuttgart, Germany |
| P. Gabriel Steg, Hôpital Bichat | Paris, France |
| Toru Suzuki, University of Tokyo Hospital | Tokyo, Japan |
| Santi Trimarchi, Istituto Policlinico San Donato | Milan, Italy |
IRAD is constantly conducting research and publishing the results. Please see our Research page for the latest abstracts from our research. If you are interested in receiving the original article, please contact the author. If you would like to support our research, please see our donation page.