Age-related aspects of balloon angioplasty for postsurgical aortic recoarctation

Balloon angioplasty is now the elective technique for relief of aortic recoarctation, since it has low mortality, low morbidity, and good results at follow-up. Some concern exists concerning the possible increased risk in young children. To investigate such age-related aspects, we examined 58 children undergoing consecutive balloon angioplasty for postsurgical recoarctation. Of the children, 30 were younger and 28 older than 1 year. Recoarctation was more frequent with ventricular septal defect or other cardiac anomalies (p < 0.001). Systolic hypertension was present in 70% of children aged less than 1 year, but in only 32% of those older than 1 year (p < 0.001). The initial gradient was inversely related with the age at dilation (r = -0.28, p < 0.05), and correlated with systolic blood pressure (r = 0.81, p < 0.01). The procedure was successful in 87% of children older than, and 86% of those under 1 year. Age was not related with residual gradient, nor with the percentage increase of diameter of the site of stenosis. After balloon angioplasty, systolic hypertension was still present in 37% of children younger than 1 year, and in 25% of those older than 1 year (p < 0.05). Three complications occurred in children younger than 1 year, and 6 in those older (p < 0.05). Our results show, first, that recoarctation occurs earlier in the setting of complex disease, second that children suffering recoarctation at a younger age are more likely to be hypertensive, either before or after balloon angioplasty, third, that balloon angioplasty has the same rate of success in children below or above the age of one year, although the procedure still carries a not negligible risk. Finally, the procedure does not carry a higher risk for those children below the age of 1 year.