Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026
Visualization of DNA Repair Proteins Interaction by Immunofluorescence
Published on: June 26, 2020
Arterioventricular interaction after coarctation repair
Elles J Dijkema1, Martijn G Slieker2, Tim Leiner3
1Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, The University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Insights
Hypertension is common after coarctation of the aorta (CoA) repair due to increased aortic stiffness. This study found preserved left ventricular function despite this stiffness in repaired CoA patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Medical Imaging
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Hypertension frequently occurs in patients with coarctation of the aorta (CoA), persisting even after successful surgical repair.
- Increased aortic stiffness is a suspected factor in CoA-associated hypertension.
- This study investigates aortic vascular function and its link to hypertension in long-term follow-up patients with repaired CoA.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess aortic vascular function in patients with repaired coarctation of the aorta (CoA) during long-term follow-up.
- To determine the relationship between aortic stiffness and hypertension in these patients.
- To evaluate the impact of hypertension on arterioventricular coupling in the context of aortic stiffness.
Main Methods:
- Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) was used to examine 22 patients with repaired CoA and 22 healthy controls.
- Measurements included aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), aortic distensibility, global left ventricular (LV) function, LV dimensions, and LV myocardial deformation.
- Patients underwent repair via surgery (n=12) or balloon angioplasty (n=10) between 3 months and 16 years of age, with follow-up exceeding 10 years.
Main Results:
- Repaired CoA patients exhibited significantly higher aortic arch PWV and lower aortic distensibility compared to controls.
- Hypertensive CoA patients showed significantly increased aortic arch PWV compared to normotensive CoA patients and controls.
- Aortic arch PWV and distensibility were correlated with systolic blood pressure, while global LV function and myocardial deformation remained preserved.
Conclusions:
- Central aortic stiffness is notably increased in well-repaired CoA patients long-term post-intervention.
- This increased aortic stiffness is significantly associated with the presence of hypertension.
- Despite aortic stiffness and hypertension, global left ventricular function, myocardial deformation, and dimensions are preserved in these patients.
Background:
Hypertension is common in patients with coarctation of the aorta (CoA), even after successful repair. Increased aortic stiffness has been implicated in the pathology of CoA-associated hypertension. This study aimed to investigate aortic vascular function and its relationship with hypertension in well-repaired CoA-patients at long-term follow-up. Furthermore, we assessed the additive effect of hypertension to adverse arterioventricular coupling associated with increased aortic stiffness.
Methods:
Twenty-two CoA-patients (age 30 ± 10.6 years) with successful surgical repair (n = 12) or balloon angioplasty (BA) (n = 10) between 3 months and 16 years of age with a follow-up of >10 years and 22 healthy controls underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), at mean follow-up of 29.3 years, to study aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), aortic distensibility, global left ventricular (LV) function, LV dimensions, and LV myocardial deformation.
Results:
CoA-patients had significantly increased aortic arch PWV (5.6 ± 1.9 m/s vs. 4.5 ± 1.0 m/s, P = .02) and decreased distensibility (4.5 ± 1.8 × 10-3 mmHg-1 vs. 5.8 ± 1.8 × 10-3 mmHg-1, P = .04) compared to controls. Significant differences in aortic arch PWV were found between hypertensive patients, normotensive patients and controls (6.1 ± 1.8 m/s vs. 4.9 ± 1.9 m/s and 4.5 ± 1.0 m/s, respectively, P = .03). Aortic arch PWV and distensibility were correlated with systolic blood pressure (R = 0.37 and R = -0.37, respectively, P = .03 for both). Global LV function, LV mass, LV dimensions and myocardial deformation were similar in CoA-patients when compared to controls.
Conclusions:
Central aortic stiffness is significantly increased in well-repaired CoA-patients long-term after repair, and is associated with hypertension. Global LV function, myocardial deformation indices and LV dimensions are however preserved.
Related Concept Videos
01:54Base Excision Repair
The first step of...
01:36Mismatch Repair
01:20Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
02:25Overview of DNA Repair
Chemically...
01:08Nucleotide Excision Repair
01:38Nucleotide Excision Repair
Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...