COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF COARCTATION OF THE AORTA

Coarctation of the aorta is a congenital disease, which clinical signs and symptoms depend on its anatomy. Coarctation of the aorta may be combined with aortic branches anomalies (in particular, the subclavian arteries) and other congenital heart defects, particularly heart valve diseases and anomalous great vessels. This clinical case demonstrates a late diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta, accidentally found during routine aortography in a 42-years old male patient, suffering from coronary artery disease. Serial computed tomography angiography allowed getting complete information about the region of the interests and per-forming complex analysis of the revealed changes com-pared to invasive angiography. Benefits of computed tomography include relative simplicity, ability to use different protocols and various patients’ positioning with minimal limitations for the further assessment. Computed tomography angiography is a promising method for assessing anatomy of congenital anomalies of the internal organs, vascular system and heart defects, particularly coarctation of the aorta.