Hypertension after coarctation repair—a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Coarctation of the Aorta (CoA) leads to increased morbidity and mortality later in life despite early surgical or percutaneous treatment. Many long-term complications are related to hypertension (HT) which is a common finding late after coarctation repair. METHODS: A systematic Review was performed including articles published between February 2012 to December 2020. Systematic searches were conducted on PubMed and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register to look for studies on HT after aortic CoA-repair. PRISMA guidelines were used. RESULTS: In this systematic review on HT after CoA Repair the mean prevalence of HT was 47.3% (20–70%). A progressive character was of the HT was found, furthermore if only studies are included with 24 h blood pressure (BP) recording in addition to standard BP measurements, the incidence of HT rose to 57.8%. DISCUSSION: Most clinical studies look at complications, mortality rate and residual pressure gradient rather than correlating hemodynamic indices with long-term outcome. Although HT is commonly based in measurement of peripheral BP, it has been shown that peripheral BP in CoA patients has a poor correlation with central aortic pressure. Central aortic hemodynamics are significantly altered in patients with repaired CoA, which can now adequately be investigated non-invasively. At the present time there are no studies linking long-term outcome with abnormal central hemodynamics.