Aortic Coarctation – What is it, Causes and Treatments!

The aorta leaves the left ventricle of the heart and travels through the middle of the body, through the chest and into the abdominal area. It then branches off to deliver freshly oxygenated blood to the lower limbs. A constriction or narrowing of this important artery can result in less oxygen flow. So, check now Aortic Coarctation – What is it, Causes and Treatments:

Main Causes: Aortic coarctation  is one of several common types of congenital heart malformations. Aortic coarctation can occur on its own. It can also occur with other heart abnormalities .

Aortic coarctation appears more often in boys than girls. It also occurs with other congenital heart defects such as Shone complex and Di George syndrome. Aortic coarctation begins during fetal development, but doctors do not fully understand its causes.

In the past, doctors thought that Aortic Coarctation occurred more often in white people than in other races. However, more recent research suggests that differences in the prevalence of Aortic Coarctation may be due to different detection rates. Studies suggest that all breeds are equally likely to be born with the defect.

Main Symptoms:  Symptoms in newborns vary with the severity of aortic constriction, most newborns with Aortic Coarctation have no symptoms. The rest may have trouble breathing and feeding. Other symptoms are sweating, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. Symptoms in older children and adults. In mild cases, children may not have symptoms until later in life. When symptoms start to show, they can include:

• Cold hands and feet:
• Nosebleeds:
• chest pain:
• Headaches :
• shortness of breathe:
• high pressure:
• dizziness :
• faint:

Treatments:  Common treatments for Aortic Coarctation after birth include balloon angioplasty or surgery. Balloon angioplasty involves inserting a catheter into the constricting artery and then inflating a balloon inside the artery to widen it.

Surgical treatment may involve removing and replacing the “frozen” portion of the aorta. Your baby’s surgeon may instead choose to bypass the constriction by using a graft or creating a patch over the narrowed portion to widen it.

Adults who received treatment in childhood may require additional surgery later in life to treat any relapses of Aortic Coarctation . Additional repairs to the weak area of ​​the aortic wall may be necessary. If Aortic Coarctation is not treated, people with Aortic Coarctation usually die in their 30s or 40s from heart failure, aortic rupture, stroke , or other conditions.