Long-Term Results of Transcatheter Intervention of Coarctation of the Aorta: A 12-Year Single-Center Experience

Stent implantation has become the treatment of choice in patients with coarctation of the aorta (CoA). However, long-term results are limited. We sought to evaluate the long-term results after CoA intervention based on a 12-year experience. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of CoA patients after transcatheter intervention and our innovative techniques. All patients who underwent transcatheter intervention of CoA at our institution between January 2010 and October 2022 were included. Clinical and echocardiographic follow-ups were carried out. A total of 103 patients with a median age of 27 (age range 21 days to 63 years) years underwent transcatheter intervention of CoA. Of them, 15 patients with concomitant cardiac anomalies underwent hybrid (n = 5) or staged (n = 10) procedures. In all 6 (5.8%) patients, subclavian artery protection techniques were used and successfully avoided subclavian artery obstruction. Systolic blood pressure decreased from 148.5 ± 21.9 mm Hg to 121.7 ± 14.5 mm Hg (p <0.001), which remained stable during a median follow-up of 37.7 months. The left ventricular mass index decreased from 128.6 [100.9, 181.7] to 99.1 [82.1, 137.4] g/m² in men (p = 0.006) and from 106.2 [93.5, 140.8] to 78.8 [59.2, 99.5] g/m² in women (p <0.001). The overall survival during the follow-up was 98.1%. A total of 6 patients (5.8%) required reintervention, otherwise, there were no cardiac, aortic, or neurologic events. In conclusion, this study provides promising long-term results of transcatheter intervention in CoA patients. The subclavian artery protection and hybrid strategy appeared valuable in complex anatomies.