Abstract
Pulsatile flow dynamics are altered distal to an area of obstruction. To investigate the effects of simple coarctation of the aorta (CAo) on descending aortic blood flow patterns, doppler interrogation of the thoracoabdominal aorta was performed in 12 infants with CAo less than 18 months of age, and 15 age matched controls. All patients with CAo demonstrated continuation of high forward flow throughout the cardiac cycle with prolongation of both acceleration and deceleration phases. Indexing the ratio of acceleration and deceleration phases of flow with acceleration time, measured as the time from onset of flow to peak frequency corrected for cycle length, separated CAo patients from normal subjects. In contrast, doppler frequency distributions from the ascending aorta did not distinguish CAo from controls. In conclusion, gated pulsed doppler examination of the thoracoabdominal aorta displayed a frequency distribution specific for coarctation of the aorta. The discrepancy between ascending and descending frequency distributions represents systolic loading and diastolic decompression of the obstructed proximal thoracic aorta. This method can provide a useful adjunct to serial follow-up of coarctation patients and early detection of recoarctation.
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Donnelly, C., Bierman, F. 95 GATED PULSED DOPPLER ASSESSMENT OE SIMPLE COARCTATION IN OF THE AORTA IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS. Pediatr Res 19, 126 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00125
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00125
