Coarctation of the aorta means that at some point along your aorta it narrows. The aorta is the largest blood vessel in your body and it’s the initial passageway through which oxygen rich blood exits your heart. It then branches off to a vessel that supplies blood to your head and upper body. And beyond that, it offshoots to a vessel that delivers blood to your lower body.
Although coarctation of the aorta can happen anywhere along your aorta, its highest occurrence is between the two branches that transport blood to your upper and lower body. So, the volume of blood to your lower body is limited by the narrowing and the pressure to your upper body is increased. And depending on the extent of your narrowing, aorta coarctation typically causes upper body hypertension and cold feet due to insufficiency of blood flow.
The extent of aortic coarctation constriction varies greatly, so you may experience symptoms that are hardly noticeable or the blood is so severely restricted that your survival is in jeopardy. If you are born with severe narrowing associated with coarctation of the aorta, then these symptoms will usually present right away:
- pallor
- irritability
- failure to thrive
- profuse sweating
- breathing difficulty
Without treatment, severe aortic coarctation can lead to heart failure.
If your narrowing is not so bad, then these symptoms may occur sometime later in your life:
- syncope
- dyspnea
- dizziness
- chest pain
- nosebleeds
- hypertension
- cold feet, legs
- muscle weakness
- exercise intolerance
- pounding headaches
- exercise induced leg cramps
When left untreated, coarctation of the aorta frequently leads to serious health complications, like:
- stroke
- liver failure
- aortic rupture
- kidney failure
- cerebral aneurysm
- high blood pressure
- early onset of coronary artery disease
Why coarctation of the aorta takes place is unknown, but your chances are greater if you also have Turner syndrome, another heart defect or a family history of congenital heart condition.
For most with aortic coarctation, it is a birth defect. Howerver, coarctation of aorta can develop later in life due to atherosclerosis or Takayasu’s arteritis. Albeit, this is extremely rare.
Surgery or balloon angioplasty are the only treatments available for relieving your hypertension and cold feet symptoms of aortic coarctation. There are several surgical techniques to repair aortic coarctation for which your surgical health care provider will thoroughly explain.
After surgery your high blood pressure and cold feet symptoms tend to get better, but your blood pressure will likely stay above normal. And as with any major surgery, aortic coarctation surgical treatment carries some risk of complications, such as:
- stroke
- heart failure
- aortic rupture
- brain bleeding
- aortic aneurysm
- aortic dissection
- infective endocarditis
- impaired kidney function
- hoarseness caused by larynx nerve injury
If you’ve had aortic coarctation repair treatment, then there are unique risks involved with pregnancy that should be considered before you conceive.