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What is Coarctation of the Aorta?

30th July, 2011 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Coarctation of the aorta is a heart defect that occurs at birth. This condition is marked with a narrowed aorta, the artery responsible for bringing nourished blood throughout the body. This condition is relatively common and it takes up 5 to 8 percent of all congenital heart defects. It may occur as an isolated defect or may be accompanied by other heart conditions such as ventricular septal defect. There is no definite cause for this condition but it has been associated with taking Zoloft during pregnancy. Also, the use Zoloft increases the risk of autism in children who are born to women who were under Zoloft therapy during pregnancy.

What happens in Coarctation of the Aorta?

In this condition, the heart has to pump harder to compensate for the defective aorta so the body systems will have receive the right amount of blood. As a result of this abnormal activity, the individual may have complications such as hypertension and stroke. Other severe complications that may arise are stenosis of the blood vessels towards the heart, rupture of the aorta and brain aneurysms. A case of organ failure may arise if the demand for blood throughout the rest of the body is not sufficiently met. All of these complications are serious and life-threatening which needs immediate medical attention.

How is Coarctation of the Aorta managed?

A definitive diagnosis is important before the treatment modalities can be laid out. The manifestations will usually depend on the severity but generally, they are evident in new-borns in their first few days of life including pale skin, heavy sweating, difficulty in breathing and irritability. This should be immediately managed with surgery once detected because untreated cases might lead to severe heart failure and death. Medication is used to manage the hypertension but it cannot treat the Coarctation. Babies with severe cases of Coarctation may be given the drug, Prostaglandin E to maintain a patent ductus arteriosus so blood will still flow around the constriction until the heart defect is corrected. It is observed that anti-hypertensive medications will still be given post-surgery to manage the elevated blood pressure. The best management will always be prevention so the pregnant woman must be careful especially in taking medications as reports of Zoloft birth defects included Coarctation of the aorta.