Aortic wall abnormalities in patients with aortic coarctation

Background Aortic coarctation (AC) represents 7% of congenital heart disease. It is a reversible secondary cause of systemic hypertension, however up to 35% of patients remain hypertensive and 18% have cardiovascular complications such as aortic aneurysm, dissection or aortic valve disease. AC is associated with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) in around 60%, both diseases alter aortic wall distensibility, stiffness and wall shear stress (WSS). Our objective was to compare these parameters in patients with AC according to the morphology or the aortic valve (either bicuspid or tricuspid).