Observations on the Natural History of Pulmonary Artery Coarctations

Abstract

Seventeen of a series of 70 patients with coarctation of the pulmonary artery underwent serial cardiac catheterizations from 2.0 to 12.4 years apart. Main pulmonary artery pressures were measured in all patients, and the values from each study were compared. A change in pressure in the main pulmonary artery was considered to reflect a change in the distal pulmonary artery obstruction. Seven patients with no other associated cardiac defects, four with associated pulmonary valve disease, and six with associated left-to-right shunts all demonstrated little change in main pulmonary artery pressures between the two studies. These data substantiate the observation that pulmonary artery coarctations represent a nonprogressive form of congenital heart disease in which the severity of obstruction to pulmonary blood flow does not increase with age.