Aortic coarctation : never too late to diagnose, never too late to treat

Abstract

We present two cases of severe aortic coarctation detected in adulthood and who underwent successful relief by transcatheter stent deployment using a new covered stent, Optimus® stent (AndraTec GmbH Koblenz, Germany). One patient is a 46-year old female with resistant arterial hypertension, in whom coarctation was suspected on a follow-up transthoracic echocardiogram for bicuspid aortic valve disease and subsequently confirmed on magnetic resonance imaging. The second patient is a 68-year old male whose coarctation was diagnosed incidentally at coronary angiography being performed as part of the preoperative work-up for severe aortic stenosis. Suprasternal views to assess aortic arch and flows in the proximal descending aorta should be a standard part of every transthoracic echocardiogram. Treatment of aortic coarctation should be considered irrespective of patient’s age.