Objective. Exercise-induced hypertension in patients with successfully repaired coarctation of the aorta is a well-known phenomenon. Its clinical importance is an ongoing debate, and the long-term clinical course has not been studied previously The aim of this study was to look at long-term outcome in patients successfully operated for coarctation of the aorta, with and without exercise-induced hypertension.
Methods. 44 patients were divided into two groups; one with normal blood pressure response to exercise (G1, N=19) and one with abnormal response (G2, N=25). All underwent standard echocardiography and maximal cardiopulmonary retesting after a mean follow-up of 8.8 years. 30 healthy blood spenders served as controls.
Results. There were no cardiovascular deaths during follow-up. The two groups remained as defined groups throughout the study period. The number of patients who had started antihypertensive treatment during follow-up was slightly higher in G1 than in G2. At follow-up the left ventricular mass divided by Body Surface Area was 99 gram/m2 in G1 and 114 gram/m2 in G2, both with a significant increase compared to the initial data (p 0.001 and 0.005 respectively) and significantly higher than in controls. Demographic data, resting systolic blood pressure and exercise performance were similar for both groups, both at initial work-up and at follow-up.
Conclusion. Regarding the risk of developing resting hypertension and/or left ventricular hypertrophy, we found no significant differences between patients with and without exercise induced hypertension, after successfully corrected coarctation of the aorta.