![]() Some babies have heart defects because of changes in their genes or chromosomes. The causes of heart defects, including coarctation of the aorta, among most babies are unknown. Read his story as well as other stories from families affected by coarctation of the aorta » Causes and Risk Factors Nicholas was born with coarctation of the aorta. In other words, about 1 in every 1,800 babies born in the United States each year are born with coarctation of the aorta. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 2,200 babies are born with coarctation of the aorta each year in the United States 1. Learn more about how the heart works » Occurrence Coarctation of the aorta often occurs with other congenital heart defects. If the aorta is not widened, the heart may weaken enough that it leads to heart failure. This eventually weakens the heart muscle. The extra work on the heart can cause the walls of the heart to become thicker in order to pump harder. If the condition is very severe, enough blood may not be able to get through to the lower body. Since the narrowing of the aorta is usually located after arteries branch to the upper body, coarctation in this region can lead to normal or high blood pressure and pulsing of blood in the head and arms and low blood pressure and weak pulses in the legs and lower body. This can back up flow into the left ventricle of the heart, making the muscles in this ventricle work harder to get blood out of the heart. The narrowing, or coarctation, blocks normal blood flow to the body. When the tissue tightens and allows the ductus arteriosus to close normally after birth, this extra tissue may also tighten and narrow the aorta. In some babies with coarctation, it is thought that some tissue from the wall of ductus arteriosus blends into the tissue of the aorta. The narrowing of the aorta usually happens in the part of the blood vessel just after the arteries branch off to take blood to the head and arms, near the patent ductus arteriosus, although sometimes the narrowing occurs before or after the ductus arteriosus. For this reason, coarctation of the aorta is often considered a critical congenital heart defect. The defect occurs when a baby’s aorta does not form correctly as the baby grows and develops during pregnancy. If the narrowing is severe enough and if it is not diagnosed, the baby may have serious problems and may need surgery or other procedures soon after birth. What is Coarctation of the Aorta?Ĭoarctation of the aorta is a birth defect in which a part of the aorta is narrower than usual. Coarctation (pronounced koh-ark-TEY-shun) of the aorta is a birth defect in which a part of the aorta, the tube that carries oxygen-rich blood to the body, is narrower than usual.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |