[Aortic coarctation and the bicuspid aortic valve]

After the analysis of the long-term outcomes of aortic coarctation isolated resection the authors noted that many of the patients had valvular defects missed for diagnosis before the operation. ECG and X-ray of the heart established valvular defects in 37% of the operated patients. 61% of them had bicuspid valve associated in 80% of cases with pathologically dilated ascending aorta. Correlation-regression analysis showed the existence of a significant correlation between the width of the ascending aorta and age of the operated patient. This width in bicuspid valve patients was correlated with systolic and diastolic pressure, physical performance before surgery. Follow-up of patients after resection of aortic coarctation should be especially careful for patients with bicuspid aortic valve with dilatation of the ascending aorta and high arterial pressure.