Coarctation of the aorta is a systemic vasculopathy requiring lifelong medical follow-up due to high risks of hypertension and aortic complications, emphasizing the importance of prenatal detection.
Supports lifelong surveillance in coarctation; leaves optimal screening and intervention strategies open pending prospective data.
Treatment for coarctation of the aorta is palliative rather than curative as compelling evidence suggests it is a systemic vasculopathy, which may be in response to hemodynamic changes in utero, or a complication of late or imperfect treatment, and constitute an inherent part of the disease process. Long-term outcome is improved by good perinatal management and prenatal detection should be our goal, wherever possible. Improved antenatal detection is possible by including the three vessel and tracheal views in obstetric screening programs. As hypertension will occur in approximately a third of individuals and aortic dilatation or dissection in 15%, counseling should ensure they are fully informed about their condition, provided with lifelong medical expertise, particularly for women considering future pregnancy.
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Matsui et al. (2009) studied this question.