Coarctation of the aorta

Case contributed by Ayaz Hidayatov
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Young female with resistant arterial hypertension.

Patient Data

Age: 30 years
Gender: Female
ct

The CTA shows focal narrowing of the descending thoracic aorta distal to the left subclavian artery. There are heavily calcified atherosclerotic plaques just proximal to the stenotic segment of the aorta. No post-stenotic dilatation.

Minimal dilatation of the bilateral internal mammary arteries.

The heart size is normal.

Annotated image

Annotated image

Red arrow indicates level of aortic coarctation.

Case Discussion

Aortic coarctation is an eccentric narrowing of the descending aorta at the level between the left subclavian artery and the ductus arteriosus.

It is characterized by a discrepancy between the upper and lower limbs pulses and systolic arterial pressure.

Surgical repair has been the treatment of choice for aortic dissection.

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