Aortic coarctation diagnosed in a patient operated on for interventricular communication and aortic insufficiency. The importance of medical diagnosis by means of images

Abstract

We present the clinical case of JG, a 32 year old patient who was operated on for an interventricular communication and an aortic valvular substitution due to a severe insufficiency 3 years ago. The patient also presented a bicuspid aorta without a preoperatory diagnosis of coarctation. This patient came to the consulting room due to some manifestations of heart failure and high blood pressure. The physical examination pointed out to the suspicion of the condition. The transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiogram showed the presence of aortic coarctation in the region of the aortic isthmus. Considering the possibility of a percutaneous treatment (balloon aortoplasty and stent placement), and for a better anatomical definition, a multi-slice contrast tomography with two-dimensional and three-dimensional reconstruction of the aorta was carried out.

Keywords

• coartación aórtica
• diagnóstico por imagen
• ecocardiografia transesofágica
• tomografia computarizada por rayos x/utilización