Aortic coarctation is a narrowing of part of the aorta (the major artery leading out of the heart). It is a type of birth defect. Coarctation means narrowing.
Alternative NamesAortic coarctation
Causes, incidence, and risk factorsThe aorta carries blood from the heart to the vessels that supply the body with blood and nutrients. If part of the aorta is narrowed, it is hard for blood to pass through the artery.
Aortic coarctation is more common in persons with certain genetic disorders, such as Turner syndrome. However, it can also be due to birth defects of the aortic valves.
Aortic coarctation is one of the more common heart conditions that are present at birth (congenital heart conditions). It is usually diagnosed in children or adults under age 40.
Coarctation of the aorta may be seen with other congenital heart defects, such as:
Symptoms depend on how much blood can flow through the artery. Other heart defects may also play a role.
Around half of newborns with this problem will have symptoms in the first few days of life.
In milder cases, symptoms may not develop until the child has reached adolescence. Symptoms include:
Note: There may be no symptoms.
Signs and testsThe health care provider will perform a physical exam and take your blood pressure and pulse in your arms and legs.
The doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to your heart and check for murmurs. People with aortic coarctation have a harsh-sounding murmur that can be heard from the back. Other types of murmurs may also be present.
Coarctation is often discovered during a newborn's first examination or well-baby exam. Taking the pulses in an infant is an important part of the examination, because there may not be any other symptoms or findings until the child is older.
Tests to diagnose this condition may include:
Both Doppler ultrasound and cardiac catheterization can be used to see if there are any differences in blood pressure in different areas of the aorta.
TreatmentMost newborns with symptoms will have surgery either right after birth or soon afterward. First they will receive medications to stabilize them.
Children who are diagnosed when they are older will also need surgery. Usually, the symptoms are not as severe, and more time will be taken to plan for surgery.
During surgery, the narrowed part of the aorta will be removed or opened. If the problem area is small, the two free ends of the aorta may be re-connected. This is called anastomosis. If a large part of the aorta is removed, a Dacron graft (a man-made material) or one of the patient's own arteries is used to fill the gap. A tube graft connecting two parts of the aorta may also be used.
Sometimes, balloon angioplasty may be done instead of surgery, but it has a higher rate of failure.
Older children usually need medicines to treat high blood pressure after surgery. Some will need lifelong treatment for this problem.
Expectations (prognosis)Coarctation of the aorta can be cured with surgery. Symptoms quickly get better after surgery.
However, there is an increased risk for death due to heart problems among those who have had their aorta repaired. Without treatment, most people die before age 40. For this reason, doctors usually recommend that the patient has surgery before age 10. Most of the time, surgery to fix the coarctation is done during infancy.
Narrowing or coarctation of the artery can return after surgery. This is more likely in persons who had surgery as a newborn.
ComplicationsComplications that may occur before, during, or soon after surgery include:
Long-term complications include:
Call your health care provider if:
There is no known way to prevent this disorder; however, being aware of your risk may make early diagnosis and treatment possible.
ReferencesFraser CD Jr., Carberry KE. Congenital Heart disease. In: Townsend CM, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2007:chap 60.
In: Anderson RH, Baker EJ, Macartney FJ, Rigby ML, eds. Paediatric Cardiology. 3rd. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier;2009:chap 46.
Webb GD, Smallhorn JF, Therrien J, et al. Congenital heart disease. Zipes DP, Libby P, Bonow RO, Braunwald E, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2007: chap 61.
Aortic coarctation is a narrowing of part of the aorta (the major artery leading out of the heart). It is a type of birth defect. Coarctation means narrowing.
Alternative NamesAortic coarctation
Causes, incidence, and risk factorsThe aorta carries blood from the heart to the vessels that supply the body with blood and nutrients. If part of the aorta is narrowed, it is hard for blood to pass through the artery.
Aortic coarctation is more common in persons with certain genetic disorders, such as Turner syndrome.
Aortic coarctation is one of the more common heart conditions that are present at birth (congenital heart conditions). It is usually diagnosed in children or adults under age 40.
This condition may be related to cerebral aneurysms, which can increase the risk for stroke.
Coarctation of the aorta may be seen with other congenital heart defects, such as:
Symptoms depend on how much blood can flow through the artery. Other heart defects may also play a role.
Around half of newborns with this problem will have symptoms in the first few days of life.
In milder cases, symptoms may not develop until the child has reached adolescence. Symptoms include:
Note: There may be no symptoms.
Signs and testsThe health care provider will perform a physical exam and take the blood pressure and pulse in the arms and legs.
The doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to the heart and check for murmurs. People with aortic coarctation have a harsh-sounding murmur that can be heard from the back. Other types of murmurs may also be present.
Coarctation is often discovered during a newborn's first examination or well-baby exam. Taking the pulse in an infant is an important part of the examination, because there may not be any other symptoms until the child is older.
Tests to diagnose this condition may include:
Both Doppler ultrasound and cardiac catheterization can be used to see if there are any differences in blood pressure in different areas of the aorta.
TreatmentMost newborns with symptoms will have surgery either right after birth or soon afterward. First they will receive medications to stabilize them.
Children who are diagnosed when they are older will also need surgery. Usually, the symptoms are not as severe, and more time will be taken to plan for surgery.
During surgery, the narrowed part of the aorta will be removed or opened. If the problem area is small, the two free ends of the aorta may be re-connected. This is called an end-to-end anastomosis. If a large part of the aorta is removed, a Dacron graft (a man-made material) or one of the patient's own arteries may be used to fill the gap. A tube graft connecting two parts of the aorta may also be used.
Sometimes, doctors will try to stretch open the narrowed part of the aorta by using a balloon that is widened inside the blood vessel. This type of procedure is called a balloon angioplasty. It may be done instead of surgery, but it has a higher rate of failure.
Older children usually need medicines to treat high blood pressure after surgery. Some will need lifelong treatment for this problem.
Expectations (prognosis)Coarctation of the aorta can be cured with surgery. Symptoms quickly get better after surgery.
However, there is an increased risk for death due to heart problems among those who have had their aorta repaired. Without treatment, most people die before age 40. For this reason, doctors usually recommend that the patient has surgery before age 10. Most of the time, surgery to fix the coarctation is done during infancy.
Narrowing or coarctation of the artery can return after surgery. This is more likely in persons who had surgery as a newborn.
ComplicationsComplications that may occur before, during, or soon after surgery include:
Long-term complications include:
Call your health care provider if:
There is no known way to prevent this disorder. However, being aware of your risk may lead to early diagnosis and treatment.
ReferencesFraser CD Jr., Carberry KE. Congenital heart disease. In: Townsend CM, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2007:chap 60.
In: Anderson RH, Baker EJ, Macartney FJ, Rigby ML, eds. Paediatric Cardiology. 3rd. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier;2009:chap 46.
Webb GD, Smallhorn JF, Therrien J, Redington AN. Congenital heart disease. In: Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, Libby P, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011: chap 65.
Reviewed ByReview Date: 12/01/2011
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Michael A. Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
coarctation of the aorta
Surgery is required for infants that have severe coarctation of the aorta or have associated cardiac defects. The average life span of children who have coarctation of the aorta is 34 years of age.
an aorta which is not normal ,it can be aneurysm coarctation aorta and etc....
Women who have an uncorrected coarctation of the aorta have a mortality rate of 10% during pregnancy and a 90% rate of complications.
This is a condition in which the aorta narrows where the ductus inserts. The meaning of the word coarctation is in fact narrowing. This disease is common for grown ups and for children too.
Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is a relatively common defect that accounts for 5-8% of all congenital heart defects. Coarctation of the aorta may occur as an isolated defect or in association with various other lesions, most commonly bicuspid aortic valve and ventricular septal defect (VSD). The diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta may be missed unless an index of suspicion is maintained, and diagnosis is often delayed until the patient develops congestive heart failure (CHF), which is common in infants, or hypertension, which is common in older children.
Among the consequences of coarctation of the aorta is ventricular hypertrophy, an enlarging of the left ventricle in response to the increased back pressure of the blood and the demand for more blood by the body.
The coarctation of the aorta is a condition resulting in the aorta narrowing near where the ductus arteriosus connects. You can get more information about this at the Wikipedia. Once on the website, type "Coarctation of the aorta" into the search field at the top of the page and press enter to bring up the information.
coarctation of the aorta
Frequently, there are other congenital cardiac complications present. Infants with Turner syndrome have a 45% rate of also having coarctation. There is evidence that some cases of coarctation may be inherited.
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