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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Doctors aren't certain what causes aortic coarctation in most cases. For unknown reasons, mild to severe narrowing develops in part of the aorta. Although aortic coarctation can occur anywhere along the aorta, the coarctation is most often located near a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus. The condition generally begins before birth.
Rarely, coarctation of the aorta may develop later in life. Severe hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) or a condition causing inflamed arteries (Takayasu's arteritis) may narrow your aorta, leading to aortic coarctation. In rare cases, trauma may lead to coarctation of the aorta.
Coarctation of the aorta usually occurs beyond the blood vessels that branch off to your upper body and before the blood vessels that lead to your lower body. This often means you'll have high blood pressure in your arms, but low blood pressure in your legs and ankles.
- Valvular and vascular conditions. In: Libby P, et al., eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50017-0--cesec183&uniq=174691007&isbn=978-1-4160-4106-1&sid=926969382#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50064-9--cesec591%3Bfrom%3Dindex%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-1-4160-4106-1. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Coarctation of the aorta. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=11069. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Hoschtitzky JA, et al. Aortic coarctation and interrupted aortic arch. In: Anderson RH, et al. Paediatric Cardiology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7020-3064-2..00049-7&uniq=174691007&isbn=978-0-7020-3064-2&sid=926979263#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-7020-3064-2..00049-7%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-0-7020-3064-2. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Agarwala BN, et al. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Agarwala BN, et al. Management of coarctation of the aorta. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 8, 2009.
- Prevention of infective endocarditis: Guidelines from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2007;116:1736.
- Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 15, 2009.
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