Some years after repair of coarctation of the aorta, up to a third of patients are hypertensive and a similar proportion has developed recoarctation. Coarctation is often associated with a bicuspid aortic valve the clinical significance of which is uncertain. A study in Rotterdam (

) has illustrated the long term problems.

Of 149 patients followed up in a clinic for adults with congenital heart disease, 124 had adequate echocardiographic data. They had had coarctation repair at a median age of 9 years (4–16 years) and were followed up …