Aortic arch morphology and late systemic hypertension following correction of coarctation of aorta.

Objective.  To reproduce in an adult population a pediatric study that found an association between aortic arch geometry and late systemic hypertension following successful repair of aortic coarctation. Design and Results.  Fifty-one patients with successful repair of coarctation of the aorta had blood pressure measurement at rest and during exercise. After cross-sectional imaging of the aortic arch, patients were assigned to 1 of 3 previously defined morphological categories: normal, gothic, or crenel. The degree of residual stenosis and the ratio of the height/transverse diameter of the arch (A/T ratio) were calculated. No relationship was found between arch geometry and either resting- or exercise-induced hypertension. Conclusions.  We found the classification into 3 morphological types difficult and did not find an association between gothic arch or a high A/T ratio and hypertension.