Aortic coarctation: the need for lifelong surveillance

Survival of patients with aortic coarctation improved dramatically after surgical repair became available and the number of patients who undergo surgery and reach adulthood is steadily increasing. However, life expectancy is still not as normal as in unaffected peers. Cardiovascular complications are frequent and require indefinite follow-up. Concern falls chiefly into five categories: recoarctation, endocarditis, stenotic and/or incompetent coexisting bicuspid aortic valve, aortic aneurysm formation and systemic hypertension. In this review, these complications, with particular reference to late hypertension, are discussed and strategies for the clinical management of postcoarctectomy patients are described.