In a prospective echocardiographic study of over 2000 pregnancies, 24 fetuses were found to have dilatation of the right ventricle and pulmonary artery when these structures were compared with those of the left heart. In 18 of these cases the diagnosis of coarctation or interruption of the aorta was correctly inferred from these findings. On direct echocardiographic examination of the aortic ar...

We contrasted in normotensive and hypertensive rats the effect of inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis on isometric tension development by aortic rings bathed in Krebs' bicarbonate buffer. NG-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (3 x 10(-4) mol/L) increased tension (82 +/- 11% of the response to 120 mmol/L potassium chloride) in rings of thoracic aorta taken from hypertensive rats 7 to 14 day...

A ten week old girl who had previously undergone a palliative procedure for the hypoplastic left heart syndrome had unrelieved aortic coarctation that did not respond to standard balloon dilatation. Complete relief of coarctation with prompt clinical improvement was achieved with placement of an 8 mm self-expanding stent. Transcatheter stent implantation may have a role in selected patients wit...

OBJECTIVES We sought to determine the prevalence and predisposing condition for aortic wall complications in adults with either repaired or non-repaired coarctation of the aorta. BACKGROUND Aortic wall complications may develop in adults with coarctation of the aorta, despite successful surgical repair in childhood. METHODS A total of 235 adults with coarctation (mean age 27 +/- 13 years) w...

Background: Stent implantation has evolved as an important therapeutic strategy for aortic coarctation. Aim: This study aimed to present the experience of aortic coarctation stenting using the Cheatham-Platinum stent by an Adult Interventional Cardiology Team. Material and methods: The data of 11 patients (ages were between 15 to 58 years) who underwent aortic coarctation stent implantation bet...

Background: Aortic coarctation is a congenital narrowing of the aorta. Computed tomography angiography is used to detect aortic coarctation and determine its extent and severity. Objective: To assess pediatric aortic coarctation by computed tomography (CT) angiography. Material and Methods: This study included eighteen patients (10 males and 8 females) who were clinically diagnosed to have coar...

We investigated the role of vasopressin, angiotensin II, and catecholamines in the onset of acute (45-minute) aortic coarctation hypertension in conscious rats. Partial aortic constriction was performed by means of a pneumatic cuff placed around the abdominal aorta above the renal arteries for 15 or 45 minutes. A sham-operated group was used as control. Mean carotid pressure before aortic const...

Survival to advanced age is exceptional in patients with unrepaired aortic coarctation. We report the case of an 81-year-old man with aortic coarctation and total occlusion who was otherwise asymptomatic. Coarctation was suspected when a femoral-radial pulse delay was noted during his routine physical examination. A 70-mmHg systolic blood pressure gradient between the upper and lower extremitie...

Double orifice mitral valve is a rare congenital anomaly presenting as the division of the mitral orifice into two anatomically distinct orifices, it is most often associated with other congenital heart defects such as left-sided obstructive lesions, ventricular septal defects or aortic coarctation. We report the case of a 15 year's old boy, admitted for arterial hypertension, auscultation reve...

Pseudoaneurysm is an infrequent complication of aortic coarctation repair. It occurs in 5-9% patients. Further complications such as pseudoaneurysm rupture or aorto-pulmonary fistula (APF) carry a high mortality rate and represent therapeutical.