Evaluation of exercise-induced hypertension post endovascular stenting of coarctation of aorta

Coarctation of the aorta (COA) is a defect that accounts for 5-8% of all congenital heart diseases. Balloon angioplasty as a treatment for COA is increasingly performed, with endovascular stents having been proposed as a means of improving the efficacy and safety of the procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the systolic blood pressure gradient at rest and during maximal exercise at follow-up in patients post endovascular stenting of COA. Thirteen patients (4 native and 9 re-coarctation cases of COA after surgery or balloon angioplasty) with a mean age of 11.1 ± 4.7 years underwent endovascular stenting between November 2007 and December 2009 via standard techniques for native COA as an alternative to surgical repair. Doppler echocardiography was performed pre and post stenting. Resting and exercise assessment of blood pressure was performed at follow-up. Post stent implantation, no angiographic major complications were evident. Systolic blood pressure gradient decreased from 42 ± 8.8 mm Hg before stent placement to 7 ± 10 mm Hg at follow-up (p value < 0.001). Peak Doppler pressure gradient decreased from 30 ± 14 mm Hg to 14 ± 10 mm Hg at follow-up (p value < 0.007). One case of exercise-induced hypertension was seen in patients. Endovascular stenting for native COA in older children and post-surgical COA repair in patients with residual COA and re-coarctation is a reasonable alternative to surgical correction. During early follow-up, stenting effectively alleviates the aortic arch obstruction with normalization of the systemic blood pressure both at rest and during maximal exercise.