Early and Midterm Results Following Interventional Coarctoplasty: Evaluation of Variables that Can Affect the Results

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Stent coarctoplasty has been approved as the treatment of choice for adult patients with coarctation of the aorta. We have evaluated the early and midterm clinical and procedural results after interventional coarctoplasty. Also, variables that can affect these results were evaluated. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Gathering clinical, angiographic and procedural data, we evaluated the pre-specified outcomes, including procedural success, complications, the incidence of hypertension after coarctoplasty etc., after the procedure. The effect of pre-specified variables including aortic arch shape, coarctation type and etc. on the procedural result was evaluated. RESULTS: Between February 2005 through March 2014, 133 stent coarctoplasty procedures were performed. Median age was 23.5 years old (interquartile range [IQR]:19-28), and 105 (71.9%) were male. Nearly all of the patients were undergone stent coarctoplasty, mostly with cheatham platinum (CP) stents. There was no association between aortic arch morphology and acute procedural complications. Balloon length more than 40 mm (p=0.028), aorta diameter at the site of Coarctation larger than 2.35 mm (p=0.008) was associated with higher rate of restenosis during follow-up. Comparison between the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) before and after coarctoplasty showed a significant reduction in the prevalence of HTN (117 [91.4%] vs. 95 [74.2%] p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Stent coarctoplasty is a low-risk procedure with favorable early and delayed outcomes. Most mortality is related to the patient's comorbid conditions and not to the procedure.