Aortic coarctation treatment in Turkey – a new life of your heart

Updated on May 18, 2020

Coarctation of the aorta accounts for 7.5% of all congenital malformations in newborns and in early childhood. This pathology has no treatment except for the surgical one. Without treatment, almost half of the patients die by the age of 4.

The good news is that Turkish doctors have been successfully performing such operations for several years. Aortic coarctation treatment in Turkey is a common procedure due to the availability of modern equipment in Turkish clinics.

What is it?

Aortic coarctation is a stenosis of the descending aorta, which leads to hypertrophy of the left ventricle and insufficient blood supply of lower limbs. Symptoms depend on the severity of the disease and include headache, chest pain, and fatigue. At the present time, the cause of pathology is still unknown. There are several theories regarding the disease development: the genetic and viral ones, but none of them has been confirmed yet.

The site of the aorta narrowing is located directly behind the blood vessels that carry blood to the head and upper extremities. Coarctation makes it difficult to move blood from the heart to the lower body. As a result, blood pressure increases in the upper limbs and decreases in the lower part of the body, which negatively affects the cardiovascular system. So our heart needs to work additionally in order to pump blood through a narrowing in the aorta. This causes hypertrophy and damage to the heart muscle due to the overload.

Symptoms

Symptoms depend on the severity of the disease. Insignificant stenosis, clinical manifestations appear in childhood, while a slight narrowing may not cause any symptoms for a long time. As a rule, severe cases manifest themselves immediately after birth. A child with this pathology can have trouble breathing. If the pathology is left untreated, it can lead to heart failure and death.

If the narrowing is small, the patient will have no specific symptoms. Often the only sign is the increased pressure on the upper limbs. Other symptoms are as follows:

  • Shortness of breath, mainly during the exercise.
  • Headache.
  • Muscle weakness.
  • Coldness in the extremities.
  • Nasal bleedings.

Diagnostics

If the stenosis is significant, it will be possible to detect the pathology at an early stage. Patients with a small aortic narrowing usually don’t even know about it. The doctor may suggest a pathological narrowing of the aorta in the presence of:

  • High blood pressure.
  • Different pressure in upper and lower limbs.
  • Weak pulse in the legs.
  • Heart murmurs.

Instrumental diagnostic methods are as follows:

  • X-ray examination.
  • Echocardiography. 
  • Electrocardiography. 
  • MRI.

Treatment options

In modern medicine, there are two methods of treating aortic coarctation with cardiac lesions. These are endovascular and open surgery. The surgery involves dissecting the narrowed area of the vessel and restoring the aorta by suturing its ends. Hospitals in Turkey have the most modern equipment, which allows performing this type of operation successfully. Aortic coarctation treatment in Turkey is also very popular due to experienced surgeons. You can find the price of treatment on the Booking Health website.

The choice of therapeutic method depends on the degree of narrowing and its localization, general health state, and age of the patient. Today, surgical treatment is mainly indicated for children under the age of 1, and endovascular – for children over 5 years old and adults. The treatment method is selected for each patient individually.

In 80% of cases, aortic coarctation is combined with other congenital heart defects. Some of them can worsen the condition of the child, but some of them, such as open the ductus arteriosus, can ease the course of the disease. If you do not treat aortic coarctation, you may experience complications over time:

  • Stroke.
  • Coronary arteries disease.
  • Aortic rupture.
  • Cerebral aneurysm.

It should also be noted that insufficient blood supply of the internal organs may lead to degenerative changes in them, with subsequent functions disorders.

How to undergo treatment in Turkey?

Due to the development of medical tourism, treatment in Turkey has become available to everyone. Turkey is the leading country in the treatment of many diseases, including pathologies of a cardiovascular system. To get detailed information about treatment options, as well as to find information about hospitals in Turkey you may just contact the medical tourism operator Booking Health. On the website, you will learn the cost of any type of surgery and will be able to choose the most suitable for your clinic. In addition, the company’s specialists provide assistance in medical and non-medical issues:

  • Booking hotels and air tickets.
  • Selection of a suitable hospital.
  • Establishing communication directly with your doctor.
  • Interpreting services.
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