Coarctation of the Aorta

Key points

• Congenital narrowing of the descending aorta; more common in males (despite Turner's association).
• Features: infancy — heart failure; adult — hypertension; radio-femoral delay; mid-systolic murmur maximal over the back; apical click from aortic valve; inferior rib notching (collaterals; absent in young children).
• Associations: Turner's syndrome · bicuspid aortic valve · berry aneurysms · neurofibromatosis.