Coarctation of the aorta: diagnostic imaging after corrective surgery

The clinical evaluation and management of the patient with coarctation of the aorta continues to evolve. Traditional imaging evaluation by plain film chest radiography, barium esophagography, and arteriography with pressure measurements across the coarctation has been largely supplanted by Doppler echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The complications of surgery and balloon angioplasty, including residual or recurrent coarctation and aneurysm, can also be evaluated noninvasively by echocardiography and MRI. Chest radiography continues to play an important role in "first discovery" imaging in asymptomatic patients.